Ways to Drive an Esper Psycho
by TobyKikami
Summary: Duel Monsters can be brought out of the Shadow Realm with a wish. Serpent Night Dragon is determined to get back to Rex. And if it means driving Esper Roba crazy, so be it. Some yaoi, shounen ai, slash or whatever you want to call it.
1. Conversations with God

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is my second attempt at brainless humor, but it's taken a distinctly angsty turn. It has no influence on the continuity of _Do Duel Monsters Dream of Cardboard Sheep? _and _Crisis of Faith_; however, most or all of the names are the same. It's an alternate timeline taking place right after the Joey vs. Weevil duel.   
On the topic of names, I'm generally using the ones from the dub. The personal names of the Duel Monsters, Arkana's first name, the names of the younger Robas, Cecilia's nickname, Catherine's last name, and the names of Joey and Serenity's parents are non-canon.   
Much credit has to be given to Clow Hatter's "My Grandpa Got Ran Over by a BEWD" for inspiring this fic. She would be on my favorite authors' list; unfortunately, I can't get myself to go on reading "I'm a Coward." The minute I got to the end of Chapter One I was so angry at one of the characters that I wanted to take Ailill's advice and go write myself a lynch mob. Now I don't dare go near that fic. It's probably a great one, but... I just can't. Sorry.   
Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! 

DRAMATIS PERSONAE   
Duelists: Derek Arkana, Ryou Bakura, Téa Gardner, Isis Ishtar, Malik Ishtar, Seto Kaiba, Yugi Motou, Maximilian Pegasus, Rex Raptor, Zachary "Esper" Roba, Jr., Weevil Underwood, Mai Valentine, Joey Wheeler 

Duel Monsters:   
Baby Dragon: Alexander "Sandy" Sang   
Blue Eyes White Dragons: Chihiro, Haku, and Sapphire   
Celtic Guardian: Ailill   
Copycat: Ken   
Curse of Dragon: Hikari Kenshin   
Dark Magicians: Aaron, Cassiel, and Gabriel   
Dark Magician Girl: Miriam   
Flame Swordsman: Brendan   
Gaia the Fierce Knight: Michael Gaia   
Giltia the Dark Knight: Geoffrey Giltia   
Harpy Lady Sisters: Leda, Helen, and Macha   
Harpy's Pet Dragon: Job DelaSangre   
Jinzo   
Koumori Dragon: Tani Koumori   
Lady of Faith: Elaine   
Lord of Dragons: Ryuunosuke   
Magician of Faith: Morgan   
Red Eyes Black Dragon: Black Jade   
Reflect Bounder: Rigel   
Serpent Night Dragon: Dar DelaSangre   
Shining Friendship: Angela   
Summoned Skull: Fluffy   
Two-Headed King Rex: Tyrann and Osaurus 

The Younger Roba Brothers: Charlie, Danny, Tommy, and Kyosuke 

Others: Duke Devlin, Catherine Jordan, Mokuba Kaiba, Solomon Motou, Scott Reuben Wheeler (Joey's father),   
Serenity Wheeler, Stephanie Malloy Wheeler (Joey's mother) 

_"Your Serpent Night Dragon doesn't deserve a slot in my deck! I think I'll use it as a coaster for my drink!"_   
_-Esper Roba_

One: Conversations with God-7:58 PM   
November 2, 2003 "All right, God," said Dar DelaSangre, "I don't know if you really are there. Geoffrey Giltia says you're there, but Geoffrey is Geoffrey. But for the purposes of this conversation I'll be assuming you _are _there. I'm told you're fair, so the fact that my name means blood shouldn't make any difference, now should it? All that evil knight stuff is junk. Pure and simple. He called me; I didn't call him. He was the evil one, not me. I don't eat human kids. Hell, I can't remember the last time I ate a human. Or killed one, for that matter.   
"I always chew my food before swallowing. I always kill my food before chewing. If it's alive when I get hold of it, that is. These days it usually isn't. I always brush my teeth, ever since I discovered toothbrushes. I don't take to my natural form and terrorize people. I don't stomp Baby Dragons flat. Sure I was in the Shadow Games, but no more than, say, Gabriel. Fact of the matter is, I was probably in them less than Gabriel. Him being the Pharaoh's Servant and all.   
"So what," he shouted, "just what did I do to deserve THIS?" 

*** 

In case you were wondering, being stuck in the Shadow Realm for millennia is no fun at all. Being stuck in the Shadow Realm with three Harpy Ladies who take self-love to a whole new level is less than no fun at all. Being stuck in the Shadow Realm with a Master who gyps your cousin's Master out of his room and sometimes fakes psychic powers and annoys the hell out of people (fortunately, not in the same way as Morgan's Master was annoying) is even less than less than no fun at all. As Job DelaSangre would happily tell you.   
Dar thought the Harpy Lady Sisters were cute, but only because he didn't have to wear a dumb collar and be constantly sat on. Literally and figuratively.   
Job sighed as he walked through the Lantern City mall, after Leda and Helen and Macha and their Master had started back to their apartment. Their Master had been shocked, then thrilled when she had in a moment of boredom wished for them to appear and they had. Now her primary concern was with food bills for four people, three of them being Duel Monsters and one of them being an adolescent (in body and soul if not in time passed since birth) dragon.   
He had slipped off at the first opportunity and walked, in his human form, all the way to Domino, where he found the Raptor residence after a bit of looking. There, some of Dar's compatriots had lent (or rather, considering the low probability of payback, they had given) him some money their Master had given Dar, and that Dar had left behind in the event that Job came calling.   
They had told him that in the latest tournament, Battle City (Job knew all about that; his Master had received an invite too) Rex had lost to a cheating so-called psychic (yet another so-called psychic) and, according to Battle City rules, anted up his rarest.   
His rarest happened to be one Dar DelaSangre, AKA Serpent Night Dragon.   
Who would've thought that Rex Raptor, dino-duelist, would believe in the Heart of the Cards? He was currently extremely bummed out and barely talked to anyone, Tyrann AKA Ran had reported before his twin Osaurus AKA Sora had made him shut up.   
Job had left incredibly jealous of Dar. Rex fell into the depths of depression when he lost Dar. And if Mai Valentine lost Job? She'd probably be annoyed at the inconvenience and go hunting through booster packs for another "Harpy's Pet Dragon."   
He wondered if Hikari Kenshin's Master with all his prattle about Heart of the Cards truly cared as much as Rex did.   
Hikari, AKA Curse of Dragon, infrequent steed for Michael Gaia, whose guts she professed to hate. They had never been together on the dueling field, but maybe that was for the better. Less reliance on physical appearance to build a relationship that way. She didn't mind the collar she knew was there.   
In fact, she had said it would probably look sexy on him.   
Look sexy it might, but feel sexy it didn't. Currently, it made Job feel on the same level with the dogs that went by.   
Now to get her a gift. He had some money left over after buying some modern clothes, not forgetting a jacket capable of concealing the collar. Might as well try getting something for her, too.   
Now what would Hikari want? Not bunches of gaudy flowers or florid love poems- the Lady of Faith might love something of that nature, but the Lady of Faith Hikari definitely wasn't. Chocolates would do as a last resort, but Job thought they weren't quite right for her, either.   
He considered gemstones. Gemstones would be an all-purpose gift of sorts. Job had never met a dragon who didn't appreciate a good emerald or diamond or such, and Hikari was no exception. Unfortunately, Dar hadn't given him that much money.   
It struck him as he walked by a store that he never would have given a second glance otherwise. He had of course heard of the insect duelist Weevil Underwood; the Masters of both Dar and Hikari had faced him in the past. Dar hadn't come to his Master until after that duel, but Hikari had done very well. Until that stupid so-called Great moth showed up…   
As luck would have it, the item he wanted was on sale, so Job bought two (one for Hikari and one for Dar's compatriots) and still had a few dollars left over when he walked out and headed for the mall exit, toting twin cans of bug spray. 

*** 

"It was his younger brother who wanted us. _Kare no otouto-san wa watashi to anata o hoshii deshita_." Chihiro Snow spoke in Japanese, an idiosyncrasy she sometimes still made use of. Pale hands that looked like they had never seen battle thrust into the pockets of the borrowed trenchcoat. Blue eyes scanned the interior of the video shop, making sure another figure, currently carrying out the mission they had been sent out on, didn't overhear.   
"I know." Haku slumped against the shelf full of New Releases, brushing white hair that had nothing to do with aging out of his face. He too spoke in Japanese. "That's what bothers me. Master Mokuba wished for us and Master Seto didn't. That must mean something and I don't think it's a good thing. Older sister-" Chihiro knew he was serious then, he never called her older sister unless he really meant it. "-you should know. You were the one who could stop and I couldn't when that demented associate of that even more demented- that- that-" Haku soon gave up finding the perfect epithet to describe Maximilian Pegasus, as well as speaking in Japanese. "-when he said to attack and you managed not to. And you were the one who got to wipe out that thing's numbers."   
Chihiro shrugged. That had become her favorite gesture after for the first time in millennia she took a human form, right before the astonished Kaiba brothers. Normally, Blue Eyes White Dragons couldn't shrug. "It was just luck." Since Haku was deciding to be serious, she decided to be straightforward. "By all rights it should have been Sapphire."   
"_Our _younger brother," and Haku smiled as Sapphire in question grabbed a DVD off one of the shelves and began to run toward them. "Look at him- just like Master's own brother, isn't he? Eyes and hair and all."   
Chihiro would have replied, but Sapphire reached them before she could.   
Sapphire Snow had blue eyes the same color as Chihiro's and Haku's and his were, as Haku had observed, nearly identical to those of Mokuba Kaiba as well as those of the picture on the card. The hair seemed like Mokuba's, a bit too long for a boy's hair, but instead of Mokuba's dark it was the same snowy pale as his siblings'. The grin, however, not the demented one of a Toon (Chihiro shuddered at the thought) was genuine Sapphire.   
He held up a DVD case. "Big sister, big brother, can we get this one? I'm sure they'd like it too!"   
Haku and Chihiro looked at the cover and began to feel embarrassed. Very embarrassed.   
"Um, Sapphire," said Haku at last, "why don't we get something else- please?"   
Sapphire, unknowing, continued to hold up the case for Hayao Miyazaki's _Spirited Away_. "Why? What's the matter with this one?"   
Haku laughed nervously, remembering the movie review he'd accessed on Seto Kaiba's computer. Specifically, the cast list. "Er, believe me, Sapphire, you don't want to see that one."   
Sapphire was not a stupid child. "Whyever not?"   
"Because, um… it's a cartoon. You know Seto hates cartoons." Haku grabbed a movie at random from the nearest shelf. "Here. Why don't we get this one, instead."   
It was then that Sapphire began to grow pale. Very pale.   
"B-big brother," he stuttered, "y-you c-can't b-be s-serious."   
Chihiro looked at the front of what Haku was holding out and shuddered. Again. "Younger brother," she forced herself to say, "you didn't even look at that, did you?"   
Haku looked. Then he screamed. Then he dropped _Funny Bunny: The Movie_ like a flaming potato and fled the store, leaving an even more embarrassed Chihiro to apologize to the manager and compensate by buying the _Spirited Away_ DVD after all.   
It was going to be a very long night… 

*** 

"Good evening, Miss Jordan." Even confined to a hospital bed, he had sophistication; there was no question why Seal had married him. He reminded her of Derek before the accident; she banished the thought.   
She smiled back. "Good evening."   
"I'd like to introduce you to someone. Meet my business partner, Duke Devlin, creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters. Duke, this is my sister-in-law, Catherine Jordan."   
Duke stuck out his hand and she took it. He grinned. "Very pleased to meet you, Miss Jordan. Haven't I seen you before?"   
"You might have."   
"She was in show business," Maximilian supplied. "Assistant to a very famous magician."   
Duke cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, now I remember. Arkana, wasn't it?"   
She nodded. "Yes, it was. It _was_." 

*** 

Dar's only replies to his shout were the laughter from the bedroom and the noise of the pencil as Esper Roba, his new so-called Master, worked on another newspaper crossword puzzle, completely oblivious.   
Esper had not been kidding when he said he thought he might use Serpent Night Dragon as a coaster for his drink.   
Dar DelaSangre was currently in his natural form, with four glasses (one Coke, two apple and one orange juice) balanced on his back. He thought he must look very much like an old-fashioned table in the Raptor home that had had claws on the ends of the legs. Only this one had a head thrown in. Not to mention a brain.   
Esper put down the pencil, picked up the glass closest to him, took a sip and put it down again before returning to the crossword.   
He hadn't made the wish. One of his little brothers had (he was the one who had the orange juice). "I wish," Charlie Roba had said, "that Serpent Night Dragon were real so the bullies won't bother us." Dar could get to like the younger members of the Roba clan, Charlie and Danny and Tommy and Kyosuke, yet. But their big brother…   
If only he were with Rex now. They would be watching TV with Ran and Sora, munching popcorn and drinking countless glasses of cranberry-raspberry juice (the adults in the Raptor home didn't believe in soda except on special occasions). The adults weren't aware that Rex had made the wish and that Ran and Sora and Dar were the result of that wish. It was their secret.   
What wouldn't he give to be there instead of with this annoying, psychic-fraud, sea-green-haired freak!   
Who was now looking at him, seemingly acknowledging for the first time in a while that he wasn't just sentient furniture. "What," asked Esper, "is a four-letter word for donkey?"   
A thought occurred to Dar, one that Michael would call sinful. Geoffrey would just laugh. The thought quickly took shape, and in five seconds he had the plan more or less blocked out.   
He grinned. "Oh, that's an easy one," he said. "Roba." 


	2. Of ESPers, Magicians, and Perfume

AUTHOR'S NOTES: *gapes* 5 reviews for the first chapter! That's some kind of record for me!   
OK, and on the human-form thing: The dragons can take a human form, although they still retain some attributes of their dragon shape that they can't make go away- i.e. very fair Bakura-esque hair and blue eyes for BEWDs. 

Two: Of ESPers, Magicians, and Perfumes Cassiel thankfully departed the elevator; it was one of those new things he didn't at all care for, even when there were others with him. He put down the bags to fumble for the key. After some effort the door swung open and he stuck his head in, precisely seventy-five seconds after he heard the half-deafening roar. "Aaron," he shouted, "we are not to blow up the garbage!"   
Aaron cursed and brushed back his silver hair, a trait unique to him and Cassiel. All the other members of their family had had hair of a different hue. Theirs ranged from dark purple almost black like their cousin Gabriel's or yellow brighter than gold like their sister Miriam's, but never, ever silver. Aaron's was still as long and disheveled as it had been during seeing duels (maybe more), while Cassiel had cut his an inch or two shorter, and held it back in a ponytail with a wide blue rubber band. "I hadn't meant for it to make so much noise."   
"Noise is noise," said Cassiel, "whether or not you meant to make it." He moved the bags inside and closed the door, not forgetting to lock it. He then set about transferring the contents of the bags to the cabinets and refrigerator. "We'll be very lucky if Master's neighbors don't wonder."   
Aaron shrugged and began to help Cassiel. "They didn't bother to come by when Master moved in. They shouldn't ought to start coming now."   
The doorbell rang.   
"Spoke too soon," Aaron muttered. 

*** 

Mokuba typed the last word, then accessed the gate camera and saw them approaching. He sent a manually typed message to the gate controls, and as the gate swung open, he said, "Jane, please print document. Category: Schoolwork. Subject: Language Arts. Type: Essay. Title: My Great Interest." He rolled his eyes; he couldn't see why _he _always had to say please before his brother's brainchild would do anything for him. Maybe it was supposed to be a subtle way of teaching him social skills.   
"Please specify version."   
Mokuba's eyes were getting quite a workout. "Jane, most recent version, please." The printer spat out precisely one double-spaced page, which he snatched up. "Jane, thank you and good night."   
As programmed, Jane logged him out and shut off. He stowed the essay in his binder and ran to meet Sapphire.   
He still couldn't quite believe it. He had just held one of Seto's Blue Eyes and wished for him to come alive, and he did. Just. Like. That. As the dragon took shape, Mokuba had panicked, thinking he would surely smash a hole in the ceiling of his brother's bedroom. Instead, the form shrunk and morphed into a kid just his age, wearing really old-fashioned clothes, with the same kind of hair as he had, except it was the opposite color.   
And once this kid Sapphire (although, he emphasized this fact when Mokuba made the observation, he was NOT a girl) had explained to Seto what was going on, Mokuba had immediately wished for Sapphire's brother and sister to come too.   
They had come. And once Mokuba had discovered their names…   
He might not have been a genius like Seto but he wasn't stupid either. After a very helpful Jane had brought up a list of top-grossing movies, Mokuba had taken Sapphire aside and specified the movie he'd like to watch that night. And in case the title wasn't enough, he had also given Sapphire part of the cast list. The two of them had laughed, and though Mokuba doubted Sapphire had remembered the movie title, he definitely had known to look for the "Chihiro and Haku movie." 

*** 

"Yes, what is it you want?"   
Mai had given the Harpy Ladies her key and sent them off to get into the apartment on her own, groceries and all. She lifted an eyebrow, sorting through the several things about him that bothered her. She had seen him earlier, wandering around the Lantern mall with wide eyes like he was seeing everything for the very first time. She put his age at seventeen or eighteen- such an age that it was near impossible that he had never before been in such a ubiquitous modern convenience as a shopping mall.   
His hair- that was the second strange thing. It was the kind of silver that she thought only old people had. No, wait- Pegasus's hair had been somewhat close to this shade. But still, it itched her mind. Pegasus, after all, had been a very strange personage. To say the least.   
The third thing- that was the strangest thing of all. His clothes were more or less normal- red hooded sweatshirt and baggy khaki pants that had drawstrings on the ankles. But somehow, whenever Mai looked at him, she imagined him in the getup of Yugi's Dark Magician, weird hat and all. The rubber band gone from the odd silver hair, letting it fall around his face, which was the same kind of dark as the face of that woman from the Domino Museum.   
"Well?" he repeated, almost making her jump. "What is it you want?"   
Mai struggled to keep her voice nonchalant. "Oh, nothing. Just wanted to make sure nothing blew up in there, after that racket. You understand."   
"Everything's fine in here. Is that all?"   
"Oh, I forgot, we haven't properly introduced ourselves." She stuck out a hand. "I'm Mai Valentine. Don't laugh," she quickly added, remembering Job's (AKA Harpy's Pet Dragon, although he hadn't looked like a pet at all) hysterical laughing fit after he had discovered her name besides Master. Too bad; she liked green eyes. And that collar did look kind of sexy in a kinky way.   
Eyes widened. "Why would I laugh?"   
"IT'S VAL! VAL'S COME BACK!"   
Before she could answer him, one of the younger Robas she had discovered living across from her apartment had attached himself to her. Thomas, she thought his name was. "Miss Val," he said, grinning up at her with the gap in his teeth extremely evident, "We're so glad you've come. We wanna see you do that neat trick with the cards again, you know, when you know what they are before you draw. Not even Esper can do that-"   
Mai allowed herself to be coaxed into the Roba apartment, all three of the kids who could talk chattering all the way, and she didn't notice the door to the other apartment close. 

*** 

Cassiel locked the door, or tried to; his hands were shaking so hard he jammed the key into the wood around the lock several times before Aaron sighed, reached over his shoulder, and pressed the lock button. "And you say_ I_ don't know enough about these new things."   
Cassiel didn't reply, only stare at the door.   
_ We wanna see you do that neat trick with the cards again, you know, when you know what they are before you draw…_

*** 

It was a long way to Domino from Lantern by automobile, and it was even longer on foot. Job walked in the shadows on the "shoulder" of the road, lights going by in a strange quick dance, a dance so quick he couldn't look at it for long without feeling sick.   
He couldn't imagine how anyone could learn to drive those things. He had seen the controls in his Master's car when they went to the mall, and they were so complicated he had imagined that they probably trained from the time they were children, the way Geoffrey Giltia and his cousin had started training to be knights, the way so many others had been trained for the duels. That was the only explanation he could find for why he hadn't seen a single collision on his first or his half-completed second journey to Domino.   
A pair of lights slid out of the darkness, sliding straight for him. Job leaped up out of instinct, his enhanced legs carrying him a good distance above the car. As gravity kicked in and he began to descend, his patience ran out. Instinct really began to kick in.   
He tossed the bag containing his purchases high into the air, thanking whatever force might be out there (Michael Gaia called it God. Job called Michael Gaia an idiot) that he was still wearing his constructs, albeit somewhat modified. They obediently melted away as his wings appeared and he let out a roar of delight. It was cut short by three facts: One, he definitely couldn't have the new kind of knight, whatever they called it now, going after him; two, the feeling of the collar expanding to accommodate his neck; three, in the time it took to transform the bags had nearly hit the ground.   
Job just managed to snatch them in his jaws, almost shredding the handles. He spread his wings even wider and took flight.   
Several of the drivers who saw this focused on it instead of on the road. They slammed into one another, fortunately causing no severe injuries. Later on, in the hospital, they never mentioned what they saw. If they had, they no doubt would have been transferred to a different sort of hospital. The kind with straitjackets.   
But Job paid no attention to this. He had a gift to deliver. Two, actually. 

*** 

Black Jade had called up Joey and asked him to wish a few others into being. Joey, once he was convinced this wasn't an elaborate prank, had happily obliged and hauled said others over to the Motou home, where Yugi had already made a few wishes of his own. The resulting party made Yugi and his grandfather extremely grateful that they lived in a part of the city that was primarily businesses.   
Ken had gotten an eager reception, doing comic impressions of various Duel Monsters and duelists alike. The biggest laugh came when he did Maximilian Pegasus. Ken was truly a Copycat; his imitation of the re-creator of Duel Monsters was perfect right down to the fancy suit, the Millennium Eye, and the sophisticated tones. "Was I right? I was right, right? Oh, do tell me I was right, because I'm a freaky twisted eye guy whose hobbies are brainless cartoons!" Loud cheer from Fluffy-nobody quite remembered how he'd picked up the name. Fortunately, Gabriel and Miriam working together had managed to put his soul in a construct that, while not exactly looking anything like a human, at least didn't break a hole in the ceiling.   
After Ken had done a considerable number of performances, everyone headed off to their various devices. Fluffy and Black Jade set about making a tremendous mess in the kitchen ostensibly baking bread. Brendan found a book of 1001 poems and settled down for the evening (that was perhaps Joey's biggest surprise and disappointment of the evening- he'd never once thought that the Flame Swordsman's Great Interest would be, of all things, poetry).   
Geoffrey and Gabriel were in a secluded corner, shielded from the rest of the house in the event of magical mishaps. Gabriel was supposed to be teaching Geoffrey practical magic (another surprise for Joey- Giltia the Dark Knight an aspiring mage). As it was, Geoffrey was suffering from a runny nose, watery eyes, periodic sneezing, and a general feeling of rottenness; this was, Michael explained, from the traces Michael's horse had left around the house before it was quickly sent back to the Shadow Realm- Geoffrey was allergic to horses. He couldn't possibly have learned much of anything unless Gabriel used soul-to-soul contact to drill the lessons into his subconscious. And Gabriel, as he himself admitted, was rotten at soul magic going any further than bludgeoning said soul to pieces with a Dark Magic Attack.   
Hikari and Michael had an extremely loud argument, which became an extremely loud fight involving frying pans, the spaghetti spoon, and various other kitchen utensils (Yugi prudently hid the forks and knives). It got toned down when Black Jade pointed out they were acting almost like Toons. It stopped completely when Ken mentioned that they fought like an old married couple.   
Ailill and Tani Koumori sat on the sofa with a clipboard, notebook paper, and two pencils; apparently Ailill had learned English from Geoffrey and Michael some millennia ago. However, his spelling was atrocious (Yugi guessed that was what you got when you learned it from people who had learned theirs during medieval times, before the time of dictionaries). As a result, they were paying absolutely no attention to the television. Sandy (whether this name was short for his real name, Alexander Sang, or for Thousand Dragon was never clarified) was next to them, and he more than made up for their inattention by watching C-Span.   
Jinzo simply sulked in a corner.   
As it was, nobody noticed Miriam's absence until Sandy glanced out the window during an especially boring moment and said quite casually, "Gabriel, shouldn't you stop your sister beating up people with her staff?"   
"She's not my sister, she's my cousin," Gabriel said almost automatically, and then he had sprinted out the door. It remained open, and everyone could hear him berating Miriam- after all, Job only did what his Master told him to do. 

*** 

"I'm very sorry about this," said Gabriel.   
Job shrugged, then winced and grabbed the guilty shoulder. "'s my fault for landing and changing right in front of the shop."   
"I hope nobody saw you."   
"Somebody did," said Sandy, "but with you as you are now, that person'll probably be smart enough to not go 'round claiming they saw a dragon in front of a shop."   
Job gave Sandy a long look. "How old're you? You talk really smart for someone old as you look."   
Sandy beamed. "Ten or so right now, but I'm very old for my age."   
Job nodded, comprehending. "Oh yeah- Time Wizard, right?"   
"That's right!"   
"Oh, that reminds me- where're my bags?"   
Yugi immediately ran out and got the bags. Job went through them, at last shouting in triumph, grabbing something, and running over to Hikari. "Hey, I've got something for you."   
Hikari took one look, put the can on a convenient side table, and kissed Job. On the mouth.   
Meanwhile, Joey attempted to figure out just what was so romantic about a can of bug spray.   
Job looked up. "That reminds me, I'd better call back."   
Yugi pointed the way to the telephone; Gabriel went off and found the phone book. Job looked through it, scribbled down a number, then dialed an altogether different one after some coaching from Yugi.   
Everyone in the Motou residence could hear the shout from the other end of the line, even if they couldn't really make out the words.   
"HELEN? OR ARE YOU LEDA?" Job shouted right back. "OH, RIGHT, YOU'RE MACHA. RIGHT. WHAT?" By now, everyone in the same room with him was holding their ears and wincing. "RIGHT… I DON'T THINK SO!" Fifty percent of the people in the room decided the best course of action was to leave to avoid ear damage. "I AM NOBODY'S PET! I DON'T CARE WHAT THE STUPID CARD SAYS, I'M NO MORE A PET THAN YOU'RE A DINOSAUR!" (At this point, Black Jade had a laughing fit) "YOU GOT THAT, LEDA? OH, RIGHT, YOU'RE MACHA. RIGHT."   
Long pause. "I'LL CALL YOU BY YOUR NAME IF I DAMN WELL WANT TO! I REALLY DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT SHE SAYS, MACHA. SHE CAN COME DOWN TO DOMINO AND TELL ME TO MY FACE! MACHA!"   
"Um, Job DelaSangre," Gabriel ventured, "I don't believe it's necessary to shout so loud."   
"She's shouting louder," Job shot back, then returned to the phone. He listened for only a second before flinging it across the room. Sandy caught it and switched it off.   
"I think," he said, "we had better be all getting back where we came from. That includes Jade." Then, when the Puzzle glowed and Yami lifted an eyebrow, "C'mon, just for one night. Please?"   
Yami acquiesced. "You may be very old for your age," he said, "but that doesn't mean you can't have the charisma of a child."   
"I choose to take that as a compliment."   
"It _was_ a compliment."   
Sandy, Brendan, and Jinzo returned to their cards, while Geoffrey, Jade, and Ken (who was doing a very accurate impression of Black Jade, plus an insane, Toon-esque grin) accompanied Joey into the night. 

*** 

"All right, whose turn is it to look after Kyo?" A hand shot up. "Okay, then, Tommy-"   
"Esper," Danny cut in, "Tommy has a big test tomorrow. The times tables. I'll do his turn this time, if that's all right with him."   
Tommy took out the lollipop, now nearly down to nothing. "Sure it's all right." The lollipop went back in, then he jerked it out again. "But don't you have a big test tomorrow too, Danny?"   
"Sure, but that's different. I know all that stuff upside down and around and around."   
Charlie shrugged. "I don't have a big test tomorrow. I'll look after Kyo."   
Esper shook his head. "You just went last night!"   
"No, I didn't. I fell asleep. You really went last night, Esper. You did."   
Tommy's lollipop finally gave out completely. He threw the stick into the garbage. "Wait, didn't that card Esper won come to life? We could get him to look after Kyo."   
Danny yelped. "Are you crazy? It's a dragon! Dragons ate people! It's evil! We can't trust it with Kyo! Kyo's not a glass of apple juice, Tom!"   
"Of course I know Kyo's not a glass of apple juice!" Tommy yelled right back. "For one thing, I can drink apple juice!"   
Esper picked up Kyosuke in question, who had begun to cry. He fumbled around for the bottle. "Tom, Danny, stop it. I'll watch Kyo. But," he said before Charlie could protest, "it'll help me do it. It won't eat Kyo. At least not when I'm watching."   



	3. Do You Love Me?

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Not a single review for Chapter 2 so far... this picture is looking very familiar... and in _Crisis of Faith _although many professed to like the story while it was in progress, only one bothered to review the last chapter. History repeating itself... ? I guess Baby Dragon watching C-Span wasn't too funny after all. I know it wasn't angsty.   
Okay... from now on this story will contain at least two pairings, and one of them will _definitely _be yaoi, but there won't be anything explicit in either case. And it will NOT be Esper Roba/anyone.   
Reviews! Please? 

_"What's the matter? You've never seen a guy kiss a card before?"_   
_-Joey Wheeler_

Three: Do You Love Me?   
November 3, 2003 Esper groaned as he was bodily flung off the couch. He groaned again as he struck the floor.   
"Come on, get up, you idiot!"   
Something wrapped around him right under his arms and pulled him to his feet, keeping him up even though right then all he wanted to do was fall down. The next thing he knew the only clock in the possession of the Roba family was being shoved before his face.   
"It's already-!"   
Serpent Night Dragon nodded and smirked. "You better believe it." His tail unwound and propelled Esper into the bathroom. Almost as an afterthought, his entire Duel Monsters deck came flying after him, scattering across the tiles. Esper scrambled to pick them up as the door slammed. "Don't forget to at least put those cheating fingers of yours through your hair," Serpent Night Dragon's voice continued. "You look like hell froze and reheated."   
Before Esper could protest he automatically looked to above the sink while still gathering the cards; there was no mirror. Their mother's hand one had been sold some time ago. "Damn," he muttered, disbelief suspended. "That stupid dragon could say I looked like Reflect Bounder and I wouldn't know the-" He froze, precious seconds ticking away, his fingers holding a card data side down. He flipped it up, nodded, and muttered, "Reflect Bounder? I wish you'd come out now."   
A flash of light and before him stood none other than the monster destroyed in his last duel by his very own Jinzo. He looked into one of the mirrors and discovered that yes, indeed, he did look like hell froze and reheated. In fact, he looked like hell froze, reheated, and refrozen repeatedly.   
The time- there was no time to waste!   
Esper jerked the brush through his hair several times, though there was no visible improvement. He turned on the sink just long enough to more or less fill a cupped hand and splashed cold water onto his face- no time to wait for it to warm up. He wiped it more or less dry with his sleeve, then allowed himself a quick glance back in the mirror. "Um… thanks?" he managed to get out before the door flew open again and the tail flew in and dragged him out.   
His sneakers were thrown into his hands and he jammed his feet into them, only then remembering the socks. He grabbed two out of the paper bag that served as a laundry hamper, thanking God they were only a little bit dirty compared to some of the other ones in there. Who cared if one was purple and the other one was yellow? He stuffed them into his jacket pockets to put on later. Then he remembered and turned for the bedroom. Tom and the twins-   
"I'll take care of them. You get out! Now!"   
With that, Esper was shoved out the door of the apartment, landing on his side. The taped paper bag containing his school supplies flew after him. He struggled to his feet and sprinted for the elevator, then ran back, grabbed the bag, and retraced his path. 

*** 

Dar managed to hold back hysterical laughter as he looked out the door and saw Esper Roba running for the elevator. He then looked down at the clock and pressed buttons, knocking the hours backward by four, to their rightful location at 4:02 AM.   
He grinned as he imagined how Ran and Sora and Black Jade and Geoffrey and all the rest would laugh if he ever got to tell them about this little escapade. His grin expanded as he looked out the window and noted it was raining.   
Then he frowned and looked over the items in the kitchen cabinets- there was no refrigerator in the apartment. It was cold enough for one, anyway. It could never be mistaken for the Raptor kitchen. Which was too bad, because Charlie and Danny and Tommy and Kyosuke weren't bad at all.   
"What wouldn't I give," he muttered, "for some of that stupid cranberry-raspberry juice right now." 

*** 

"Hey… Joey?"   
Joey groaned and rolled over. "Mmph… Jade? I think ya need ta know da Joey Wheeler Rule Number One: Don't wake Joey Wheeler in da middle of da night."   
Black Jade seated himself on the edge of the bed, flipping dark spikes of hair out of his face. His red eyes didn't look at all evil; they looked normal on him. "It's not the middle of the night, it's a bit past four in the morning."   
Joey pulled himself into a sitting position and swung so that by turning his head ninety degrees he could see Jade's profile. "Oh. Okay. What is it?"   
"Well, something's been botherin' me." Jade leaned back against the wall with his hands behind his head. "Ya know the day before the night the Rare Hunter showed up?" Joey decided to accept the theory that imitation was the best kind of flattery.   
"Ya mean the one with Exodia? Yeah, I remember that day."   
"Well, ya remember you were talking to Yugi and those others, before ya went to register?"   
"Yeah…"   
"Did you mean it?"   
Joey blinked. Was Red Eyes Black Dragon really blushing? "Mean what?"   
"I mean, when you kissed my card. I felt it. I asked Yugi and he said you did it, too."   
"What the-"   
"Well? Did you mean it?" By now the blush could not be denied. "Um. Are you really in love with me?"   
Any further discourse was cut short by the unconscious state of Joseph Wheeler. 

*** 

Rex Raptor pulled the blanket over his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't want to get up," he mumbled. "_I don't want to get up!"_   
But he did. He had to.   
He actually wore the standard Domino High uniform, with none of his little "additions" such as socks with little dinosaurs on the ankle, for the first time since his freshman year. He didn't even bother to put on his hat- another thing he had done without fail since freshman year.   
And he had always, always, _always_ taken his deck with him. Since before freshman year.   
Ran and Sora were back in the cards, since Rex doubted the excuse of "friends sleeping over" would hold out for very much longer. If he overestimated, then he could very well lose Ran and Sora.   
Just like he'd lost Red Eyes Black Dragon, and then Dar DelaSangre…   
It was raining, and Rex sat in the front of the car with his school gear, not saying a word. When the door opened before the high school and his father said, "Well, see you later," his returned goodbye sounded as if a robotic version of him was saying it. He climbed out, reached back in for his backpack, and headed away. The uniform jacket didn't come with a hood, and Rex's head got drenched before he reached the building. He didn't care. Compared to losing Dar, wet hair was the absolute least of his worries. 

*** 

Cassiel rose before either Aaron or their Master and prepared a meal. He had to taste several items to be absolutely sure what they were, but he knew they were safe for consumption. Every one of them had been specified by his Master, and painstakingly written down by Cassiel.   
"How," he muttered, "just how did you get yourself into this?"   
Cassiel had once, six or five hundred sixes years ago depending on how you counted it, been a genuine child. He had believed that Masters always knew what was best. He had believed that they could never deliberately hurt him. He had believed they all cared.   
He had been proven wrong.   
After the duel he had waited along with Aaron, waited for something to happen. Of course their cards were tampered with, so they couldn't be taken away like Cassiel had first expected, but still. Things couldn't just go on the way they had been before; the shift had been too great for that to happen. They couldn't go back again; that much was certain.   
Whatever they had expected, they definitely hadn't expected the wish.   
But he had made the wish. And they had to answer his call.   
Cassiel picked up the various items and placed them on a large book, then picked up the book and started for his Master's room.   
But he hadn't ever expected to be his Master's keeper!   
All the shades were drawn. All Cassiel could make out was shadows. There was a large one in the center of the room, and lying in the center of that, looking very weak in comparison, was him.   
"Catherine," he muttered. "Catherine…"   
Cassiel placed the food on the table beside the bed and hastily left the room. 

*** 

Esper Roba had not been amused when Dar finally let him in. "Stay here," he gritted out, "and take care of Kyosuke." Then, after a quick course in baby care, "And by God and Jesus and all that is holy-"   
"-just about everything that isn't you-"   
"-if you've harmed one hair on his head, just one hair, I'll- I'll make you wish you were never born!"   
"Oh? And how exactly will you do that?"   
"SHUT UP!" was Esper's only comeback.   
So the four oldest Robas had gone off to school; they went to different ones than Rex's school which was apparently a long way south. And he was stuck with a one-year-old and Reflect Bounder, who hadn't been recalled to his card.   
Reflect Bounder actually wasn't so bad. He introduced himself as Rigel, like the star, and he busied himself keeping Kyosuke amused by doing odd things with his mirrors. When Kyosuke began to cry, Rigel (who had apparently listened in on Esper's lecture) ran to get the bottle. It was at that point that Dar pressed the lock button on the apartment door, opened it, walked out, closed it, and walked off. By the time Rigel had finished with Kyosuke's needs for the moment, he had completely forgotten that Dar was supposed to be there. 

*** 

Mokuba had dreamed of a girl around his age who turned into a Blue Eyes White Dragon named Sen and got a job at Kaiba Corp. Only in his dream the owner of Kaiba Corp. wasn't Seto, it was a really short Pegasus dressed like an old lady. And then there was another Blue Eyes White Dragon called Nigihayami Kohakunushi; only they found out his real name was Haku. And then Pegasus was taking care of a giant baby with sea-green hair like the Roba brothers he hadn't busted. And then he woke up.   
He came downstairs to find Seto, Chihiro, Haku, Sapphire, and Lord of Dragons seated around the dining room (the table was only big enough for two) having breakfast. Mokuba took his place at the table and started on his readied plate, eating somewhat faster than he did on the weekends and definitely faster than Seto. In fact, he was eating almost as fast as Sapphire, who was eating like he hadn't seen food in a thousand years.   
"Mokuba," said Seto, "I'd like you to meet Ryuunosuke."   
Lord of Dragons, newly labeled in Mokuba's mind as Ryuunosuke, bowed. Mokuba reached out, grabbed his hand, and shook it in response. 

*** 

"Psst," Joey whispered in the half-minute before the bell. "Who's the new kid? The bummed-out looking one?"   
Téa turned around. "Don't you recognize him? That's Rex Raptor, for heaven's sake!"   
"Oh. Right. I knew that."   
"Okayyyyyy." 

*** 

Dar didn't have much time. It had taken an hour to get to Rex's house in the rain, and he had to get back by a little bit past three- he had learned that was when school stopped. He didn't want to push Esper _too _far.   
Maybe he could just stay with the Raptors, who gave a damn about Esper Roba… that option was dismissed quickly. After some experimentation they had learned that Dar and the others had to return to their cards on their Master's command. Back then, of course, their Master had been Rex who would never force them back in. But now Dar's card was in Esper Roba's possession; the latter might have cheated to get it, but regardless he had it. And Dar might not consider Esper his Master, but Esper certainly did, and the method he had used to get the card made no difference.   
He had to go back to the city he had learned was named Lantern. Eventually.   
But not for now.   
And if his plan worked, after a while he'd never need to go back there again.   
Dar calculated he'd be able to stay in Domino (newly dubbed Battle City, after the tournament) for roughly four hours. And he wasn't going to spend that time dawdling outside Rex's house when he knew perfectly well Rex wouldn't be coming home until it was too late to see him.   
After some more searching, he found the school Rex attended. He walked right in as if he belonged there; that ploy had worked for him several times in the past. And considering the large number of students in Rex's school, probably everyone would assume he was just another student.   
And it almost worked.   
"Dar! Hey, Dar!"   
He spun; he knew that voice didn't belong to Rex or Esper or Job. He had heard Rex's voice giving commands on the field too many times to not recognize when a voice wasn't his. Job was his own cousin and the same thing went for him. And Esper's was far more annoying. This one reminded him more of the one who'd had the Flame Swordsman and the Battleguards, the one into whose hands Black Jade's card had passed. In fact, it reminded him of…   
He was wearing another set of the clothes he'd seen hanging in Rex's closet, the clothes Rex put on when he needed to go to school (but Rex generally added some things of his own). He leaned against the wall besides a closed door- Dar didn't see any open doors, probably because of the rain. His hair was dark like a cloudy night where you couldn't see the stars, but it had a luster to it that cloudy nights didn't have. His eyes were dark blood, and Dar knew as soon as he noticed this attribute exactly who he was.   
"Jade?" It was more of statement than a question.   
"That would be me, yeah." Jade lifted an eyebrow as he indicated Dar's constructs. "Don't ya think ya ought change those a bit, Dar? That way you'll fit in more." The arm swept from Dar to another door, one with a simplified outline of a human in front of it. "You better go in there ta do it, though."   
It was hard work changing the constructs once they came into being, especially in this place. Too, the smell wasn't the most pleasant one Dar knew of, and it was distracting both to smell it and to breathe through the mouth.   
He gave up and decided to start from scratch. He concentrated, the human fingers and toes elongating into claws and the human spine stretching, wings appearing. He dropped to all fours as the transformation drew to a close, then immediately began changing back, this time shaping his constructs to approximate what Jade had been wearing.   
He gave himself an appraisal, undid the primitive latch, and walked out.   
The first thing he saw was Black Jade's new Master with his mouth open. In fact, Dar thought, it was so wide open you could probably stuff a Petite Angel in there. What seemed like forever but was only a few seconds passed before the mouth moved to form words.   
"What the hell… tell me I didn't see what I just saw."   
_Act normal. Act like you belong. Maybe he doesn't know_. "That depends. What did you see?"   
Another false forever went by before the answer. "… claws under the door."   
_ Damn._

*** 

Cassiel did a simple transportation spell, like the one infused within the Mystic Box. There was a reason the doors closed before the two monsters were switched, besides to create suspense for the uninformed- it wasn't at all a pretty sight to watch. That was why he did it in the room with the tiles.   
He focused on leaving his body, literally pulling his soul out of it, like his Master had done with that other card. Only this time he wanted it to happen, so in a way it was easier. He kept only the thinnest of ties, thin enough so that he could wander away. He heard the sound of his body falling against the tiles; he would get it later.   
In his mind's eye Cassiel flew out of the room, out of the building, over the city wet with the rain and seeming to glow with all the other souls. There were four strange glows in the building besides Aaron's. They were a little bit like Aaron's and his own; there were traces of Shadow lingering around them.   
He oriented himself to the south and after a long, long while managed to see the place called Battle City. His rough destination. Now to find his more precise one…   
There were two clusters of souls with traces of Shadow, as well as some lone ones. One of the ones in the clusters gave him an extremely familiar feeling and even though that was the one he was looking for, he recoiled from it. Everything began to fall down on his figurative head.   
His soul wasn't torn apart and scattered to whatever corners the Shadow Realm had. Instead, Cassiel's soul spiraled down toward the second cluster, and before he could stop it the spell dragged his body along.   
It didn't fully materialize until he had fallen through the roof of the large house into one of the rooms, and he still wasn't quite sure it had until he smashed into the floor. At first the only thing in his thoughts was the pain. Then he noticed the others in the room and gulped. "Um, Lord of Dragons? I know you won't believe me, but this was entirely unintentional. Could you please stop pointing the Flute of Summoning Dragon at me?"   
Lord of Dragons backed off, and Cassiel got to his feet. "I'm very sorry about this."   
"I accept your apology. You'll have to speak to our Master, though."   
Gulp. "Where might your Master be?"   
"He's occupied at the moment. Ryuunosuke, go ask for him. I'll take care of this."   
Ryuunosuke bowed. "As you wish, Lady Chihiro."   
"And don't call me Lady. You make it sound like I'm Lady of Faith."   
"Yes, Lady Chihiro." He left the room, leaving only her and Cassiel.   
She grinned in a sideways manner, revealing abnormally sharp teeth; the cold light from above made her hair seem like alabaster or something of that nature. "As you may have concluded by now… I'm Chihiro Snow. Very pleased to meet you."   
He nodded in response. "My name is Cassiel." His mind made a quick identification: dragon in human shape. Probably- no, definitely, Blue Eyes White Dragon. And with that his mind automatically began to look for a quick transportation spell.   
She looked to the door. "Our Master should be here shortly. If I don't know him well enough to know he'll be interested in off-color Dark Magicians falling from what certainly looks like thin air, I don't know him at all."   
Cassiel started. "How did you-"   
She smiled. "You're holding the staff," and she indicated it. "And your eyes- they're like Gabriel's. They have the same look in them. Not to mention your staff's a lot like his, too."   
Now Cassiel felt like a complete idiot. "I'm very sorry about this."   
"You already said that. You sound just like Gabriel when you say that, did you know that?"   
Before he could reply, the door swung open and Chihiro's Master entered.   



	4. Curse of Dragon's Revenge

AUTHOR'S NOTES: There will be some Joey, Weevil, Panik, and Pegasus bashing in this chapter from Dar, Hikari, Job, and Tani, respectively (Serpent Night Dragon, Curse of Dragon, Harpy's Pet Dragon, and Koumori Dragon in case you don't feel like going back to Chapter One to look at the Dramatis Personae). These views do not necessarily reflect mine. If you have issues with their behavior, please specify them and I'll do my best to explain. And please don't get on my case about Elaine and Michael's speech and religious beliefs. I already know I probably messed up.   
A big thank you to all the reviewers! I hope you continue to do so! Review, that is! 

_"I have another prediction. You'll give me your locator card and your rarest card!"_   
_-Esper Roba_

Four: Curse of Dragon's Revenge "Names first, then explanations. I know you're Wheeler." Dar held out a hand, though at the moment he felt like holding out a knife, blade toward Wheeler in question. Geoffrey might understand his reasoning, but he wasn't Geoffrey. "I'm Dar DelaSangre."   
An eyebrow lifted. "I get da feelin' you've got another name." But his hand came out as well. "So. What's that name?"   
"Swamp Battleguard." Dar smiled at Joey's expression. "Did you really think that? It's none of your business." Dar thought on the news that had been flying between the cards during the start of Battle City and recalled the pertinent information. "First you win Black Jade from Rex, then you lose him to some moron who wasn't even invited, then you beg the King of Games to get him back-"   
"I DID NOT!"   
"Didn't your mother teach you not to interrupt?" Dar snapped back. "-and then Rex gets cheated out of the tournament by a so-called psychic, and what does the almighty Wheeler do?" Dar struggled to block out the memory of the Roba apartment; after all, he told himself, his anger was completely valid. Cheating was cheating. "He sides with the fraud after he pours out some sob story! And where, just where, is Rex Raptor and his right to an honorable duel in this equation?"   
"I- I-"   
"Oh, forget it." Dar walked right past him, out the door with the outline of an extremely simplified human. "Just forget it."   
He walked right past Black Jade, who ran after him. "Dar, wait up! Dar!" Dar waited up and then waited for him to speak. "Don't ya think you're being harder on him than necessary? I'm sure Geoffrey'd say the same."   
"No," said Dar, "I don't think so. If I had thought that I wouldn't have done it. At least _you _got back to the one you call a Master."   
"No," said Jade. "It was only for the night. He gave my card back to Yugi this morning. I felt it."   
"Oh. Lovely set of values your Master's got there." They were walking across the quad, to another block of classrooms. "You think that's why he doesn't give a damn if I'm stuck with a cheater for the next millennium? If he had given even one damn he would've helped Rex get me back."   
"It's not like that! He just doesn't think you should have other people fight your battles, is all."   
"That works fine when nobody spies on anyone else's cards. But cheaters… now that's a whole new game." They reached the block; Dar leaned against the wall and Jade joined him. "And Rex couldn't even challenge him again for me, because he'd lost his locator card. The least he could've done was give Rex back the locator card. I don't care if he's Geoffrey's Master. He's not Geoffrey. I'm pretty sure Geoffrey knows better than he does."   
Before Jade could have responded, the noise began, a long wail that made Dar think of some of the temporary-death cries in the Shadow Games; the ones he still remembered. Doors opened and students poured out, many of them chattering loudly. They reminded him of the crowd during Rex's duel with Esper Roba; in fact, he thought he recognized a few of the faces. And then there was one he really recognized.   
If Dar hadn't known he might have thought he was a completely different person. Rex was wearing the school clothes, just like everyone else. His hat was gone, and the length of his two-toned hair (Dar had concluded that it was almost too long for a boy in this era to have and still be considered normal. Then again, Rex understood the mind of the cards as well as the Heart- that definitely wasn't normal in this era, not that it had been in previous ones) was even more obvious.   
More disconcerting was the fact that Rex's attitude had undergone a near-complete flip-flop. His regular aplomb, which some labeled as simple arrogance, had completely vanished. Any arrogance there had ever been had gone along with it. He went along with the others all around him, being swept away with the flow, like a stick Job had tossed into the river. And once, Dar remembered, Alexander Sang- or maybe it had been one of his brothers, they were so hard to tell apart- had fallen into the river, gone almost to the bottom and almost gotten trapped in the mud before they had managed to fish him out.   
Rex was nearing the bottom of the river.   
Dar went against the flow, leaving Jade behind yet again. Jade could go run along to the oh-so-wonderful Joey Wheeler. Dar had loyalty to those who deserved it, and he had a mission. "Rex! Hey, Rex!" 

*** 

"That comes to $8.39. Thank you and have a nice day." Mai handed the customer the bag and the receipt, and then, when he was safely headed for the door, she pulled her fingers through a section of her hair and sighed.   
She had Job on the brain. She knew she should keep all her attention on her work (she had to resist the temptation to think of it as her "Job"), even though she had long ago started longing for the day when she could walk away from it. She knew she should concentrate on that and not on that red hair and those green eyes and that kinky collar…   
He was permanently stuck in her thoughts! No guy- or girl, for that matter- had managed to do that since Joey Wheeler!   
Mai managed to keep from frowning and proceeded to attend to the next person, who approached the cash register with a 100-pack of pre-sharpened pencils.   
The manager was out today, visiting her daughter in the hospital. Why Stephanie Malloy sent her to the one in Domino instead of the one in Lantern, Mai had no clue whatsoever. Maybe the procedure required equipment the Lantern hospital didn't have, or something like that.   
She sighed as once again she did the well-worn calculations in her mind. Four years at the most prestigious (read: expensive) private school in the city, two years in college where she had learned the names of 101 renowned artists (most of them which she later forgot), how to type on a QWERTY keyboard without looking down, and various other items. And now she was stuck punching away at a cash register like a sixteen-year-old kid, dreaming of the day she could buy one of those houses with a swimming pool bigger even than the one in South Cherry Park had been, and at last get her revenge in her contentment.   
Whatever way she was going to do it, it wasn't going to happen this way.   
She checked the store clock and calculated the Daylight Savings Time switch. Another few hours until Ms. Malloy would be due back- about an hour after lunch, and Roba would show up around four. Ms. Malloy would stick around past the time Mai would head back and Roba would leave the same time as Mai.   
Mai got the feeling that Roba would like to stay even longer, get more money that way, but since he was legally a sixteen-year-old kid, he wasn't allowed to stay any longer. He came in on Saturdays too, usually in the mornings, but last week (the Saturday of Job and the Harpies) he had requested a shift change to the late-night one. "Domino City," he had said. "I've really got to go to Domino." Ms. Malloy had lifted an eyebrow, but she had granted his request. Mai knew perfectly well why he wanted to go to Domino, but she kept her mouth shut. After all, she too had gone to Domino that Saturday.   
He was an oddball, no doubt about it. It wasn't just the hair- Mai could take the hair after seeing Yugi's unique 'do, not to mention Rex Raptor's purple bangs. She had heard rumors that he'd worked in a freak show as a little kid, and after seeing his psychic act on Rex Raptor she felt inclined to believe those rumors. He looked like he had practiced.   
But he wouldn't be showing up for hours anyway. And she didn't talk to him. What would they do, anyway, swap tips on faking ESP?   
Mai sighed and finally noticed the next customer. 

*** 

A Battle City duel had started in the middle of the quad, still wet from the rain which had just cleared up. Joey Wheeler versus some cocky idiot or another. Yugi and the cheerleaders were of course gathered behind Joey, now with the addition of Black Jade. Behind them stood nearly the entire student body. Joey's challenger was near completely alone. Dar wondered if he knew what he had gotten himself into.   
Dar and Rex were standing behind the challenger (the benches were also wet), getting a very good view of his hand- not that they were going to broadcast it or anything. To their right were his few friends; to the left was Weevil Underwood, the duel disk still strapped on his arm. Dar kept one eye on Weevil and the other on Joey, who apparently hadn't noticed them.   
"What were you supposed to do with the duel disks?" he whispered to Rex.   
"Keep them," Rex whispered back. "Souvenirs or something. But I wouldn't be caught dead wearing one now. They see a duel disk, they assume you're still in. And when they find out you're not…" He grinned sideways; there wasn't much laughing behind the grin. "Underwood got challenged twice this morning. You should've seen how they were laughing at him. For a so-called champion strategist he's one heck of a moron."   
Dar grinned and nodded in returned. "Ran and Sora are avenged, huh?"   
"Yeah, guess so." Rex seemed to take great interest in his sneakers.   
Someone standing on the other side of the quad and wearing headphones could have heard Joey. "I sacrifice the Swordsman of Landstar- to summon Giltia the Knight! Giltia! Attack Harpies' Brother!"   
Someone standing on the other side of the school wearing headphones blasting out rock music could have heard Black Jade. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Kill him dead!"   
Rex whispered to Dar, "Was he always like this?"   
Dar tore his eyes away from his first sight of Geoffrey Giltia on the field. "In a way, yes," he said, "but I don't think he picked up that way of talking until he moved to that deck."   
"They'll probably ban Battle City duels tomorrow," said Rex, "because of all the noise. And because they're actually fun. Hey, Dar- do you know those people?"   
Dar turned to follow the direction in which Rex's arm gestured. Someone- to all appearances a regular human girl around seventeen- was standing at the corner of one of the classroom blocks. She wasn't wearing the school uniform; instead pants that looked like they had been stolen from Yugi Motou's closet, a black T-shirt with the image of a Curse of Dragon on it, and a ceramic whistle. Her hair was like dark gold and her eyes were the same red as Dar's own.   
"Now I summon Baby Dragon!" Another sequence of cheering from Jade began.   
Dar nodded to Rex as she put the whistle to her mouth and blew.   
All the heads in the crowd turned. Jade's shout stopped in mid-word. Joey Wheeler and his challenger, too, looked to the classroom block. "Weevil Underwood!" she shouted. And when she had apparently ascertained that he was looking at her, her hand not holding the whistle came out, in a fist.   
As everyone watched, a certain finger snapped out directly at Weevil- and no, it wasn't the index finger.   
"That was for disrespect of Exodia."   
Withdraw. Flip again.   
"That was for disrespect of me."   
She abruptly grinned, marched over to Weevil, picked him up by the front of the shirt, and threw him so he landed just short of the challenger's shoes.   
"And THAT was for being an obnoxious cheating insect."   
It was another moment before the mass paralysis wore off, and by then she had sprinted behind one of the classroom blocks and was gone. Then, everyone began moving, not to mention talking. The duel was forgotten; the images of Alexander Sang, Geoffrey Giltia, and the challenger's four monsters vanished. Yugi Motou was apparently explaining something; Dar watched his mouth form the word Hikari.   
Dar told Rex, and Rex actually smiled. "I can't believe," he said, "that someone actually flipped Weevil off. Not to mention did that."   
"That's the way Hikari Kenshin is," said Dar. "Knowing her, that bug was lucky he wasn't squashed completely. Bad joke, I know."   
Rex gave Dar the key he had mentioned getting for Dar and Ran and Sora, but hadn't gotten until after the duel- that was his explanation. When the wail came again, they exchanged hope-I'll-see-you-again-soons, and Rex ran off toward the blocks. It was then that Dar realized they hadn't mentioned That Duel or Esper Roba once. 

*** 

Hikari ran through a door with a simplified picture of a human wearing a skirt on it, and into one of the compartments. Several minutes later, she walked out again, the clothes borrowed from Yugi stuffed in a bag. She was, instead, wearing constructs made to approximate the uniform. Nobody took any notice of her as she slipped through the gate and broke into a run.   
She made it to the front of the Game Shop before collapsing, laughing harder than she ever had before.   
"Hikari, are you in pain or something?"   
Hikari got to her feet, shaking her head and grinning in Job's general direction. "No, I was just thinking of the look on his face."   
Job grinned in return and adjusted the scarf acquired from Mr. Motou. It had slipped down, exposing a corner of the collar. "I can imagine. Oh, I can imagine. Too bad I heard that Eliminator idiot's dead. He annoyed the hell out of me. Where to next?"   
Hikari considered that for a moment. "Pegasus," she said at last. "Him and his stupid Relinquished… Wait a minute. I need to go look up hospitals. And I'd better get Tani, too. I wouldn't want her to miss out on this."   
A vigorous nod. "Considering what I've heard happened to her, it'd be, like Giltia said, a sin to not let her in on it."   
Hikari held up a hand. "Do. Not. Mention. Sin. Again. It makes me think of him."   
"Oh. Okay. You were going to-?"   
"Yeah." She ran back inside, yelling, "Tani! Tani, come on! We've got some vengeance to be wreaked!" 

*** 

Cassiel had been frightened almost out of his mind when Chihiro's Master had come in. The look in his direction did not help at all.   
"Who is…_ this_?"   
"Master," Chihiro said, "this is Cassiel. There seems to have been a magical accident, result being that he materialized in this room."   
An eyebrow raised. "Oh? And what was his _intention_?"   
For a moment Cassiel waited for Chihiro to speak again, then realized he was expected to answer this one. Her Master took several more steps forward, cutting the distance before him in half. He was tall, but not quite as tall as Cassiel. Cassiel hastily lowered his head so the difference was negated.   
"I… I intended to visit my cousin and sister…" Cassiel looked through his memory of Before- what was left, that is- to try and determine the correct way to address someone else's Master. No use. Before, he wasn't permitted to speak to most of those not his Master. Some of those who he did speak to insisted he call them by their names. And one of them was called Pharaoh. "… I did not mean to trespass. I apologize."   
"Tell me the name of this cousin and sister."   
Cassiel could tell it wasn't a request. "… Gabriel and Miriam."   
He could _feel_ the eyebrow lift this time; he saw it in the tone of voice. "Another card?"   
"Master?"   
Cassiel kept his head down but saw the other turn in Chihiro's direction. "Yes, what?"   
"I know Gabriel, and I know the name of his Master. Should I direct him to the correct location?"   
"So they are cards."   
"… yes, Master, they are."   
"So who owns them?"   
assiel winced; he had never thought of it as _owning_ exactly, more like… oh, he didn't know. But the word _own_ was harsh on his mind. Somehow he couldn't imagine Gabriel and Miriam being _owned_. Then there was Chihiro's voice again, perfectly even, as if she was used to statements like these.   
"… Yugi Motou, Master."   
The silence nearly deafened him. Then just one word, "Fine." And then, sharper, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!"   
Chihiro escorted him to the gates and pointed him to the right street. He thanked her and ran, her eyes echoing in his head. 

*** 

Dar went back to Rex's house and used the key, for once thanking God (if he was even there) that both the Raptor adults had jobs and wouldn't be there to see one of Rex's "friends sleeping over" walking into their house.   
The money was where he had left it, in a wooden sliding-lid cigar box (Rex said he had bought it at a garage sale without the original product inside) on Rex's dresser, next to a 1988 book of world records and his deck, which was aligned with the cards face-up. Dar saw Ran and Sora's card on the top and touched it, giving them a brief greeting and letting them inform him.   
The amount of money had been cut in half- Job had come by after all. There was still some left, and he removed it. There was also a fifty-cent tiger's eye and several fast-food coupons, and he took those too. Then Dar turned to the closet, pulling out the box of clothes that Rex had found for Ran and Sora when it turned out they couldn't make constructs. He selected a navy blue jacket and placed the neatly folded money into one of the pockets. It was back to the box for pants of the same material- Rex called them jeans- and a shirt with a message printed on it that made him smile. He made the constructs vanish and donned these clothes.   
There was a pad of paper from some hotel or another. Dar picked up a pen but couldn't think of a good message. In the end he decided a bad one was worse than none at all and returned the pen without making a single mark.   
He went out the door, not forgetting to lock it, and began on the journey back north. 

*** 

Esper simply could not pay attention. As the teacher went on about variables or decibels or _something_, all he could think of was Kyosuke and how could he have been so stupid as to leave his youngest brother alone with a dragon who obviously hated his guts. His hand holding the pencil finally moved on the notebook paper, but almost immediately stopped. He had been about to, not take notes, but draw his worst-case scenario. Which was not a scenario for little kids to see.   
He sighed and made another attempt to pay attention; even without ESP he knew it wouldn't work. 

*** 

An arm straightened and a hand waved. "Good day to you, Hikari Kenshin."   
Hikari nodded. "Lady Elaine, right?"   
Elaine smiled and nodded. "Do you have any knowledge of how Michael fares?"   
"Last time we checked he wasn't dead," said Job, "and one of Giltia's little spells hadn't backfired and mangled him. Last time we checked. I can't make guarantees for now."   
Elaine returned her hands to their folded position in her lap. She was seated in one of the hospital waiting room chairs. In the chair next to her was an object wrapped neatly in floral paper, complete with shiny ribbon (real fabric ribbon, not the curly paper kind) and gilded card. "I understand. But he is in no clear danger?"   
"Besides being blown apart by Hikari because he questioned her belief system once too many," said Tani Koumori, while leafing through a random magazine, "no, he isn't in clear danger."   
Elaine sighed- if it were an act, she would be an instant star for all the pathos she conveyed- and looked down. "Hikari, I apologize, but Michael really does mean for the best."   
Hikari made an unidentifiable contemptuous noise and turned away. "Oh, sure he means for the best. He tells me to believe in the existence of an omnipotent idiot who hates me because I am what I am. He calls me sinful. He's all high-and-mighty about his stupid numbers which are only three hundred higher." She kept her voice down, which was fortunate, as there were others in the room. "And he really does mean for the best. Sure. If you say so."   
Elaine put a hand to her mouth. "…Oh my. He said such a thing?"   
"You bet."   
"I'm sure he didn't really-"   
Tani quickly changed the subject. "Why are you here, Elaine? Your Master's hurt?" She, too, kept her voice low.   
"Oh no, my Master is unharmed."   
"So who is it then?"   
She lifted her head. "Maximilian Pegasus," she stated. "Master had to go to school, and he asked me to deliver this." She indicated the object.   
And right then Tani wanted nothing more than to walk over to a wall and hit her head against it. Repeatedly.   
"I think you'd better go see him first," said Job. "Kari and Tani have very special presents for him."   
"Really? What sort?"   
"I think they might be giving him sandwiches. But they'll be special sandwiches, if you get my meaning."   
"Oh, I see," although she clearly didn't see at all. And then she picked up the package and walked off.   
After Elaine had gone, Job defined a "knuckle sandwich" and Tani laughed for what seemed like forever until it was over.   



	5. Matters of the Heart

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Must resist temptation to ask exactly what it was that makes everyone but Alex Warlorn so far seem to avoid this story like the bubonic plague when they reviewed the first chapter and said it was good and would you please continue...   
*takes deep breaths* Okay. I think I'm calm now.   
If any Joey fans took offense, I would like to remind them (if they haven't walked off in disgust already) that that was from Dar's point of view, and Dar isn't omniscient. Plus, he hasn't exactly been in the most rational of moods lately. And I could argue that the Rare Hunter WAS a moron, because he stuffed his deck with Exodia pieces (which, you have to admit, are completely lame individually- a Magician of Faith could beat up one of those arms or legs!) and has a big mouth! When Yugi figured out it was Exodia, he could just have denied it, you know. Nobody had binoculars aimed at his deck...   
As far as I know Yugi never claimed either one of Arkana's Dark Magicians. Remember, they were tampered with.   
No, Relinquished doesn't have a human form. Hikari's got angry remembering (remember, she's Curse of Dragon) because she got sucked into it in Yugi's rematch with Pegasus and got shoved in the way of Dark Magician's attack. You'd think that would be a perfectly good reason to be angry. She doesn't like Weevil because he threw Exodia overboard. Exactly when did I say she was a saint who always knows best? She doesn't even like saints. Many of them are mainly known for killing dragons.   
Speaking of which, I may not have gotten Serpent Night Dragon's card description right. If I haven't, would anyone care to enlighten me?   
There is some censoring of a sexually oriented word in this chapter, because I would like to keep this story at PG13 if at all possible.   
*takes several more deep breaths* Okay, if any of you are still left, go on and read the story. Please? 

WARNINGS: This story contains a yaoi (male/male) relationship and sexual innuendo, but no actual sex. Also some swearing. 

_"No! Don't reflect! If Reflect Bounder reflects Jinzo's attack, they're both doomed!"_   
_-Esper Roba_

Five: Matters of the Heart "Um, Jade?"   
"Yeah?"   
"Could ya please not do dat in fronta other people?"   
"Okay…"   
Joey extricated himself from Jade's hug, trying to ignore the looks from those around him. Not all of them were amused ones. Some looked downright disgusted. Jade still had one arm around Joey's shoulder, and Joey decided to allow him that.   
"Hey, Joey!"   
He turned and waved. "Hey, Tristan."   
"So. Who's your boyfriend?"   
Only the fact that he was in public kept Joey from entering an unconscious state. As it was, he was struck dumb. Jade answered for him. "I'm Jay Black. Pleased ta meet ya." Joey opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. Maybe he didn't want anything to come out. 

*** 

After introductions and making replies to several questions without really answering them, Cassiel looked up his Master's telephone number. After some coaching from Miriam (who was thoroughly amused that she got to teach her big brother something for once), he called back to the apartment and got the answering machine. The moment he began to speak, Aaron's voice cut him off.   
"Cassiel, where'd you go? You missed something absolutely priceless!"   
"Yes? What?"   
"Master really shouldn't leave that book lying around."   
"Book? What book?"   
"The long one that makes no sense."   
Whatever Aaron's "priceless" thing was, Cassiel thought, he was glad he missed it. "Yes?"   
"It had my name in it!"   
Cassiel sighed. "It was probably someone else with the same name they spoke of. When I was looking for this number I found those of four people who have the name of Aaron. And I doubt any of them are you. What of it?"   
"If you insist, this 'other person' could turn his staff into a serpent-"   
Cassiel swallowed hard. "You didn't."   
"I did."   
"You turned your staff into a serpent?"   
"One just as long as my staff, and the same color. It wasn't that hard at all."   
"And you did this in front of Master?"   
"Him? Of course. What would the point have been otherwise?" For a long while there was nothing but Aaron's laughter. Then, "You should have seen the look on his face. It was priceless! That, and his climbing onto that little table-" Pause. "I don't think you're laughing."   
Miriam and Gabriel were looking completely mystified. _Oh well_, Cassiel thought, _I can explain later. Much later_. "No," he told Aaron, "I'm not laughing. What is there to laugh about?"   
"Cassiel, you have absolutely no sense of humor. Or an incredibly exaggerated sense of loyalty. Probably both."   
Aaron had, like he himself would say, hit the stone in just the right place to make it crumble. Cassiel didn't crumble, but it hit him hard nonetheless.   
"You don't know anything." He returned the phone to its original location before Aaron could make a rejoinder and waited before turning back to Miriam and Gabriel.   
Miriam was the first to speak; she descended to particulars as usual. "If what he'd done to each of you'd been switched around maybe this would make some sense."   
Cassiel smiled at her; he couldn't put any joy behind it. "Too bad it's not that way."   
Gabriel obviously had questions of his own, but unlike Miriam, he withheld them. "Cousin," he said, "I was wondering if you could help me plan out Geoffrey's magic lessons. You know much more about soul magic than I do…"   
"I'm sorry, but- I really need to go. I apologize." He ran into the room with the tiles and performed the transportation spell before either Gabriel or Miriam could come up with a good argument as to why he should stay. There was no need to worry that he could be convinced by those arguments- he already was convinced. He just couldn't stand to listen to them. 

*** 

Fluffy was the first to the door- it was fortunate that there weren't any customers at the moment, as he looked far from human. That was the only reason he hadn't come with Hikari and Tani. "Did Pegasus like the sandwiches?"   
Tani shook her head in mock sorrow. "No, he didn't."   
"Too bad," said Job. "I could tell they put a lot of effort into them." 

*** 

Dar walked up to the door and proceeded to kick it. "Hey!" he yelled. "Let me in already! I come in peace!" Another door opened, and he turned to see-   
"Um." He gulped. "Helen, right?"   
Helen grinned and nodded in response, widening her emerald eyes just slightly and adjusting her wings. "Dan Blood, right?"   
"Actually, Dar DelaSangre. So, um, your Master wished you?"   
Helen nodded again, this time more vigorously, and flipped some strands of hair over her shoulder. "Dar…" A wink. "Oh, yes, now I remember. Pet's cousin, right?"   
_ Job would have a conniption fit if he heard that._   
But Dar wasn't Job, so he nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm Job's cousin."   
"Have you seen him around lately?"   
"Sorry, no."   
"Are you sure?"   
Before Dar could reply, something grabbed him by the back of the jacket and yanked him into the apartment. The door slammed in front of his eyes and then he was spun around to face Rigel.   
"Where were you all day?" Rigel held up the same clock he'd shoved in Esper Roba's face, and Dar winced.   
_ Four o'clock. Guess I was a lot more than "fashionably late."_   
"It's none of your business, but I was visiting my Master." Dar pushed Rigel's hand off his arm- it wasn't at all hard. Rigel's numbers were, after all, even lower than Brendan's. And he had sonic-blasted Brendan to pieces. Add that to the fact that Rigel was trained more in mind than matter, and you had no contest at all in a head-on match. "Any questions?"   
"What do you mean, visiting your Master? Have you forgotten who your true Master is?"   
Dar shrugged. "Sure I remember who my true Master is. He's the one who got me without cheating."   
"Are you calling your own Master a cheater?"   
"No," said Dar, "I'm calling a cheater a cheater."   
"You forget, you have a new Master now. And if you call _your_ Master a cheater one more time…" Rigel stopped there, presumably to allow Dar to consider the "or else."   
Dar was unimpressed. "You know my Master's no cheater. And he's no so-called psychic either. And he didn't go around cheating people out of their rarest cards, no less."   
"That's because," said Rigel, "your former Master was such a pathetic duelist he couldn't duel his way out of a district tournament. He sent that stupid Megazowler charging right into me, for crying out loud. With those skills he never had the opportunity to cheat, and even if he did he'd be such a bad cheater that-"   
With that, it was Dar's turn to grab Rigel, hauling him forward so their faces couldn't be more than six inches apart. "Don't you ever slander Rex Raptor again, or you _will _be hearing from my Nightmare Sonic Blast. Rex is not a cheating bug and he is not a cheating fake, unlike some I could name. So stop yapping about my 'True Master' already!"   
Rigel had no reply to that. Dar let him go and they stood there for a long while, looking at one another and coming to a silent understanding. Then Dar heard noises and turned his back on Rigel.   
The younger Robas were gathered around the radio, listening to some popular song or another. Tom opened his mouth and removed the lollipop, presumably to start singing along, and Charlie (or was it Danny?) quickly shushed him. Dar held totally still and listened, trying to hear something over the song, some hint of Esper Roba's location, but there was nothing.   
Rigel saved him the effort. "Master isn't here. He has a job." He paused to wait for Dar's sudden laughing fit to die down. "_Do you think this is a laughing matter_?"   
Dar shrugged. "Just the name of someone I know. How old is he? Seventeen?"   
"Sixteen."   
Dar lifted an eyebrow. "And you mean to tell me- okay, back before, they thought you were contrarious or something if you _hadn't _started working by sixteen. But I know things are different now. Andrew Raptor's _twenty_ and he still hasn't really started. Do you mean to tell me-"   
"Most of them still don't work by sixteen," said Rigel. "Master's is a special case."   
"Yeah!" Charlie chimed in. "If he didn't we wouldn't be here 'cause a while ago Dad didn't send money and Mom-"   
"Don't tell them, Charlie," Danny cut him off. "They're just Duel Monsters. They don't need to know family business."   
"Don't act so holier-than-thou," Charlie countered. "You know real well even with the job-" (Dar didn't laugh this time) "-we couldn't have stayed if it weren't for Esper winning the district. And you remember it was Rigel who did the last move."   
Danny nodded, the original topic forgotten. "Yeah, it's a crime, is what it is! Esper _mashed _his opponent and he didn't get an invite to Duelist Kingdom! All the other district champions got invited! Even some people who didn't even come in second were invited! But they didn't invite Esper! That's no fair!"   
_Of course he wasn't invited. It's said the only cheater that Pegasus can tolerate is himself. _Dar opened his mouth to let out that acid rejoinder, then shut it for a reason he didn't quite comprehend. The words banged down his lungs.   
"Yeah, that's no fair," said Charlie in an I've-heard-this-all-before tone. "It's no fair at all."   
Danny nodded vigorously. "I thought so."   
Dar stuck one hand into his pocket and felt the money. There were several bills, none smaller than a five, and lots of change. Suddenly it felt way, way too heavy. He spoke. "When'll he be back?"   
Tommy pointed to the clock Rigel still held. "'Bout another three hours."   
Another thought came; Michael would suspect his motives, but Geoffrey would say yes, go on and do it.   
He turned back to the door and opened it.   
"Don't tell me you're running back to him already!" Rigel was screaming now. "Don't tell me you already can't take all this and are running back to where it's nice and safe and your last Master can get you anything you want! Well, go on and go!"   
"Look," said Dar, "I'm just treating them to something, okay? Don't go off yelling and putting words in my mouth again, or I'll consider it an insult to my Master. And my previous ultimatum regarding Nightmare Sonic Blast still stands."   
He dug the coupons from his pocket (it wasn't so hard- they felt different from the money. Less substantial) and held them before the eyes of the Roba brothers. "Here. Which one do you like best?" 

*** 

They couldn't decide which of the final two restaurants was best. So they went to both, and Daniel Paul Roba was astounded by how casually Serpent Night Dragon (but was this Serpent Night Dragon? He didn't act evil at all) spent money, like there was a bottomless pit of it and all of it was his. He commented to Serpent Night Dragon about this; the latter laughed and said, "Once it was a lot like that, correct." And then Daniel decided now was not the time to look the figurative gift horse in the mouth.   
They walked back to the apartment with their food- or rather, they ran back. Charlie chased Tommy, both of them waving their shares of what had been purchased, and the rest had to keep pace. Daniel considered himself too mature for such antics, and besides he couldn't attempt stunts with Kyosuke on his back, but he couldn't help hugging the takeout bag he had been entrusted with so tight that any living organism within would have smothered. He held it like he was trying to press it right through his shirt and into himself, into his heart and his stomach. And in a way, he guessed he was.   
Reflect Bounder (Daniel knew his name was Rigel) opened the apartment door when they got back, giving Serpent Night Dragon a doubtful glance as he did.   
It was the most substantial dinner they had had for over a month. And they had a Duel Monster to thank for it. Daniel had suspected this would happen, but he had always thought the Duel Monster would be Esper's Jinzo. Now, Esper's Jinzo was… no longer Esper's Jinzo, exactly.   
"Thanks a lot," said Tommy, then added, "Serpent Night Dragon."   
Serpent Night Dragon laughed and put his hand behind his head. "Oh please," he said, "call me Dar." 

*** 

Joey heard the door slam, dropped his pencil, and ran into the living room to see Jade quite calmly locking the door. He looked to the couch and discovered it was empty. "Where'd Dad go?"   
"He was acting so funny," said Jade, "that it wasn't laughing funny at all, so I don't think it would be in anyone's best interests for him to stay in the house." The door began to vibrate. "Okay, maybe it would be in the door's best interests…"   
Over all the noise, it was a while before anyone heard the phone ring. Jade, being closest, picked it up. "Guy-who-had-Lava-Battleguard? Okay… Tristan then. Did I what?" Joey grabbed the phone just in time for Tristan's response.   
"I said, was it good for you?"   
"TRISTAN!"   
"Oh- it's you. I was just asking your boyfriend if-"   
"Yeah, I know. If it was good for him."   
"Well, considering this is your phone-"   
"You haven't been going around telling people I screwed Red Eyes Black Dragon, have you?"   
"You ******* what?"   
Joey winced. It was out. "Um…" He shoved the phone back to Jade. "You explain."   
Jade took the phone and said, "I'm actually Red Eyes Black Dragon. What's ********, anyway? Hello? What's so funny?"   
Joey's first impulse was to bang his head against the wall repeatedly until he either woke up or knocked himself out. Either way would give him an escape. But he didn't.   
Instead Joey found himself staring at Black Jade, watching the play of light on dark hair and wide red eyes; then he tried to reconcile these observations with the holographic images that appeared in duels. In the end he found several similarities, but not as many as he would have thought he would find.   
Apparently Tristan had finished with his definition, because Jade said, "No, he just kissed me, that's all." 

*** 

Normally, Mai in her car would have outpaced Esper on foot, but that night she stopped to get gasoline, and thus she made it to the elevator at the same time he did.   
"So you're the one who my brothers've been going on about."   
She shrugged. "They like to see me do card tricks. That's all."   
They reached for the same elevator button at the same time; Esper backed off and let Mai push it. The elevator started up and they stood in silence until the doors slid open.   
"Just give me a minute to drop off my stuff, okay?"   
"Okay, um-"   
"Your brothers call me Val."   
"All right then… Val." 

*** 

Haku drew and smirked, then put down the paper. It was cut to approximate the size of a Duel Monsters card, like a child's attempt to forge them. The picture was bad- Haku had no artistic ability whatsoever. But the numbers were quite clear: 3000/2500.   
Ryuunosuke sighed as he did the mental calculations taking his Life Points to zero and put down his hand, consisting of more soulless imitations.   
Haku did a double take. "You had all five pieces in your hand and you didn't play them?"   
A nod. "I know you love to win."   
Haku frowned, but the truth in that statement was undeniable. "Just don't do something like that again."   
"All right, I won't." But Haku doubted it.   
Now it was his turn to sigh as he got up from the table where he had been playing a twisted version of Duel Monsters with the so-called Lord of Dragons. Master and everyone in the deck, of course, knew that Ryuunosuke was no more a Lord of Dragons than Sapphire was a Toon.   
The game had been somewhat entertaining at first, but Haku always won, because Ryuunosuke flatly refused to defeat him. There wasn't even the slightest chance of loss, as the Exodia incident demonstrated. Therefore, something like that couldn't be fun for very long. It was simple as that.   
He turned his attention to the computer that his Master had provided him, playing a few games of online chess. That soon lost its charm as well. It couldn't compare with chess where the opponent was right across the board, where psychology was half the game. You couldn't even try to interpret your opponent's expression in an online match. This, of course, meant that Haku was shielded in case his expression might slip, but it was a blindfold as well as a shield.   
He considered a game with Chihiro, but she had long ago mastered the art of reading his expressions, and invariably thrashed him worse than Master had thrashed Joseph Wheeler. He was pounded in nine out of ten games. The tenth would usually be a draw. Sapphire had never bothered to learn.   
And how, exactly how, could he go up to his Master and ask for a game?   
So he went to talk to Jane.   
"Please state your name."   
"Haku."   
"Verified. Please state your password."   
"Corundum."   
"Verified. Welcome back."   
Haku had almost fallen in love with Jane. His computer expertise was nowhere on the level of his Master's, but he learned fast. He respected computers- they, unlike living things, were reliable. Except, of course, when they crashed- and Haku hadn't seen a computer crash yet.   
"Jane, begin new search. File type: programs. Query: chess."   
"One result. Run program?"   
"Yes."   
"Skill level?"   
"Maximum."   
"Black or white?"   
"White."   
"Please state your move." 

*** 

"Hey, Esper!"   
The first thing Esper saw was Tommy. The second thing he saw was the fast food wrappers sticking out of the garbage. "Tommy, what-"   
"Here!" Tommy stuck out something in another wrapper. Esper opened it to find a part of a hamburger. At that moment both Charlie and Danny ran up with more wrapped things. They were duly opened to find more pieces of hamburger.   
"They ought to make a whole one altogether," said Charlie. "We had a lot of other stuff, so we were really full. I think we still have some fries if you want them…"   
His eyes expanded. "Where did you get this?"   
Tommy looked at him like he was a big idiot. "Dar bought it for us. Did you think we _stole_ it or something?"   
Esper turned to Reflect Bounder. "I'm very sorry, Master," said Reflect Bounder, "but my name isn't Dar, it's Rigel."   
"Roba," came the voice from behind him, "what's going on in there?"   
"We were just explaining," said Danny, "that Dar bought us dinner and Dar isn't Reflect Bounder. And Dar isn't Jinzo either in case you were wondering, Esper, Val."   
"What the-" Silence, then, "You too?"   
Esper turned to admit her. "I guess. It happened to you?"   
She sighed. "Yeah, but Pet- but Job AWOL-ed yesterday."   
"AWOL?"   
"Disappeared." She considered that statement. "Well, not disappeared exactly. We know where he is."   
"And where would that be?"   
"Domino, I think. Macha talked to him on the phone." She snapped her fingers. "Ah, Dar! Last name DelaSangre?"   
"It might be," said Charlie. "He didn't tell us."   
"Helen said she'd talked to him around four and that someone dragged him into your apartment."   
"Well, _who is Dar_ then?" Esper deliberately avoided looking at Rigel because he knew the truth that would be emblazoned on his face.   
She laughed. "Well, who would've thought that Rex's Serpent Night Dragon would get your little brothers dinner?"   
For precisely three seconds (but it seemed longer) Esper Roba gaped at Mai Valentine. That was how long it took for the information to be processed. At first blank shock flooded his mind. Then he began to feel very, very resentful. It was _his_ job to take care of his brothers, not the job of some snake-dragon-thing who was "born from the soul of a wicked knight"!   
"Serpent Night Dragon," he growled, "COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"   



	6. Can Duel Monsters have yamis? Can Duel M...

AUTHOR'S NOTES: O_O Thank you for the reviews!   
JaguarKitty2006: You'll review every chapter? Thanks a million! And no, I'm not being sarcastic.   
Alex Warlorn: Your commentary is appreciated. However, don't you think Yugi would be disqualified for using a tampered card, even if he hadn't done the tampering? And Hikari doesn't think of the un-nice dragons. Would you present serial killers and arsonists as representatives of the human race? Also, in this fic Lord of Dragons doesn't have any authority over the dragons, and do you really think Haku would think of Sapphire as a Toon? 

Disclaimer: The day I own Yu-Gi-Oh! is the day Rex is chosen by the Millennium Scales and sends Weevil to the Shadow Realm. *Hikari, Michael, and several of Rex's monsters cheer in the background* No, that DIDN'T HAPPEN! *groans from the same* I do, however, own a deck made up of bits and pieces of both starter decks and several booster packs, which I used to kick my sister's you-know-what in both non-tribute and tribute duels. Serpent Night Dragon was not included, the reason being I've just found out my card's a fake. *cries* 

Warning: This chapter makes liberal use of the angst category, not to mention a probably-really-bad metaphor. There's probably not much humor in this chapter, unless you have a different definition of humor. I'm probably stretching the definition of PG-13 somewhere in here. Also, there is yaoi. There will be yaoi all through this story. And, in case you're wondering, there will be a business relationship between Yami Bakura and a Duel Monster. I think that's it. 

Six: Can Duel Monsters have Yamis? Can Duel Monsters have somewhat homicidal knights for yamis? "Cassiel," said Aaron, "I have long suspected that you have no sense of humor. Now I _know _you have no sense of humor."   
"I do have one," said Cassiel. "I just don't think scaring Master counts as humor."   
"Therein lies the problem. If you don't think that's funny, then _nothing_ could possibly be funny to you."   
"If you think deliberately frightening people by turning your staff into a snake is funny-"   
"Oh, not people in general. Just _him_, that's all." Aaron leaned against the wall and regarded him with a condescending expression, like he had Before, when he was thirteen and Cassiel was ten. Cassiel had lost count of the times he had worked out a design involving chain reactions of spells or such, and Aaron had had the satisfaction of informing his "stupid younger brother" that he had worked out the same relationships a long time before. He never seemed to do this with Gabriel or Miriam- then again, Miriam was only around six then. And Gabriel was their cousin. Cousins worked different. "Our Master the masked maniac."   
"That's no way to speak of him! As I recall, _you_ were the one who spoke to Gabriel's Master. You were free with your insults then, but you weren't _that_ way to Master!"   
Aaron seized Cassiel's shoulders and yanked him close. "That was before, you fool! Did you really think I would have used my big mouth like that, gone on about not being worthy of having Gabriel, if I had known what he was going to do to you? Do you think I would've grinned like that if I'dve known? You're the one he used that soul spell on, not me! And now you go on about our duty to our so-called Master like you completely forgot the entire thing ever happened! Like you're still afraid of him! You are such a — such a whimpering dog!"   
The room was quiet for what couldn't have been more than ten seconds before Aaron spoke again, quieter now. "So. I understand you went to see Miriam. How's our little sister these days?"   
Cassiel told him. Then they prepared meals for the evening, one for Cassiel and one for Aaron and one for Him (Cassiel brought in the latter, apologizing at the same time for Aaron's prank. His only response was a blank stare). As they ate, they talked almost brainlessly, about magic theories they both knew full well about, anything to avoid the subject that was taboo for the night. And that night Cassiel had troubling dreams again. 

*** 

The banging subsided after a while, and after that Yugi arrived, tactfully not mentioning Mr. Wheeler's slumber on the lawn. Nobody needed to ask what he had come for. They had a conversation over Curse of Dragon's stunts that day, and there were several laughs, but in the end it came up.   
"Bye, Joey," said Black Jade, then surged forward and hugged him even harder than he had done at school. For a moment Joey wanted to pull away, but their faces drew closer and he found that he didn't want to. Then all at once the distance between their faces was nonexistent.   
Not on the mouth-it was just short of it. Then Joey, following instinct, took his turn. Somehow his arms had moved above Jade's, and he smiled as he remembered a dream he had had in Duelist Kingdom.   
"Gigantic doughnut," he whispered against Jade's skin.   
Then the magic faded and they were left standing there in the middle of the Wheeler living room, more aware than was comfortable of their surroundings. Nobody's jaw had dropped, but the size of Yugi and Geoffrey's eyes more than made up for that. Sandy just smiled knowingly.   
The goodbyes were much more awkward than they could have been otherwise, and after Yugi and Jade had gone Joey actually sat and watched C-Span with Sandy, and it was an hour before the boredom penetrated and he fell asleep. 

*** 

Dar threw his arms into the air and sighed with the air of a martyr. "I try and do a good deed, and this is what I get? The third degree?"   
"You think you're so much better than us?" Esper folded his arms and tried to look intimidating. He only looked very angry, which he was. "You think you can just go buy them things and then feel so superior about it later? You think you can go tell yourself you helped someone? Well, guess what?"   
"What, Jinzo came back?"   
"We don't need any help! Especially not from the likes of you! Never do something like that ever again! Do you understand?"   
"Did you just tell me to be mean to your brothers?"   
"I did not! I said to not take them to- to-" Open mouth. Insert foot. "It doesn't matter!" Esper grabbed his deck and shuffled through the cards until he shouted in triumph and held one high in the air. "I wish you'd get back in there! And stay in there! For the next century!"   
The only sound was the laughter of Esper's brothers in the main room as Mai Valentine showed them card tricks.   
Dar shut his eyes and waited for the time when he would open them and they might as well be closed, wishing that his last sight was Rex's astonished expression when he saw what happened when he wished Duel Monsters back to the cards. It had been necessary- Rex's father was approaching and it would have been very hard to explain a Serpent Night Dragon curled around the room.   
He waited a long time, then opened his eyes to see Esper Roba lowering the card, eyes wide. Dar could have drawn parallels between his expression and the expression Rex had had, but he did his best not to. "So, cheater," he said, taking as his model the devil-may-care speech of Black Jade, "Things didn't go according to plan this time?" 

*** 

"Hello, Bakura."   
"Yugi, the spirit of the Ring would like to speak to Hikari Kenshin."   
A horde of elephants could have stampeded through the Game Shop while Yugi was processing this information and/or conferring with Yami and it only would have induced a blink. Then the Puzzle glowed. Yami crossed his arms and glared at Ryou. "Why does the Tomb Robber want to speak to Curse of Dragon?"   
Yugi quickly grabbed control again. "What he means," he said, "is that Curse of Dragon is… grounded, I guess."   
"Grounded? Oh my. But wasn't it-" It would have taken a successive charge of hordes of elephants and zombies to snap Ryou Bakura out of his trance this time. "-awfully sorry, I mean she, wasn't she already grounded, so to speak, for thousands of years? Isn't it awfully harsh to add on even more time?"   
"Yeah, I know, but you see, she made this big scene at school-" Yugi paused for Ryou to finish yet another mental conference.   
"Oh my. She was the girl with the odd whistle who made insulting gestures to Weevil Underwood this morning?"   
Yugi sighed. "Yes, that would be Hikari."   
"All right then, when will she be available again?"   
Yami's voice and Yami's words came this time. "First answer my question!"   
Now it was the Ring's turn to glow. "Well," said Yami Bakura, "according to the visions I coaxed out of Miss Ishtar, Hikari and I go back a long way. It's not the sort of thing you find in the ancient scriptures. I knew it was Hikari making the sandwich delivery, but-"   
"Sandwich delivery? What sandwich delivery?"   
Yami Bakura sighed and spoke slowly, as if to a very small child. "A certain personage who I will not name sent the Lady of Faith to the hospital today with a, as he calls it, 'get-well present' for Maximilian Pegasus."   
"He's alive?"   
"Very much so. Lady of Faith informed us she had an encounter with three dragons in human form in the hospital waiting room. One male and two females, one of the females being Hikari. The male asked her to give her present to Pegasus first, as he said his companions might be giving Pegasus sandwiches." Yami Bakura paused at this point to let out a shriek of laughter that made the King of Games jump a full six inches. "I do not claim to be an expert on modern language, but I do know some terms. And I expect the delivery of Pegasus's sandwiches was exceedingly painful. For him, that is."   
Yami shrugged. "Ah well. I suppose she was justified in that, considering the way Relinquished works." Then, as if to prove that there was no way he was conceding to a tomb robber, he added, "But that doesn't mean I'll allow you to-"   
"Relax, Pharaoh, I'm not asking to intrude into your domicile." Yami Bakura flapped a hand. "I just want a message sent to her saying that Bakenrenef is here. That was my name, apparently. At least I think that's what Miss Ishtar said my name was, before she fled. Did she think I would stab her with the pointers of the Ring?"   
"Yes," said Yami. "I think, considering your reputation, that she thought that."   
"Oh, and my second order of business." He dug around in a pocket, and a folded paper emerged. He stuck it out to Yami. "The Lady of Faith, also known as Lady Elaine if that rings any bells, has a declaration of undying love for one Michael Gaia. I assume even one of your intelligence would be able to deduce his identity."   
Yami took the paper gingerly, as if fearing an explosion or sudden transportation to the Shadow Realm. "I can manage that."   
"You'd better," and with that he left the shop, though Yugi could still see him loitering outside.   
"Well?" called Hikari. "Bakenrenef's here? I'm surprised you didn't throw him out."   
"Be silent," Yami yelled back. "You're still under punishment."   
"You're just jealous because you didn't get to do it."   
Yami had no reply to that. Partly because most of his brain's resources were trying to figure out how Curse of Dragon had gotten out of the Shadow Realm. While he was getting there, a certain misnamed dragon literally flew down the stairs and out the door, leaving Yami to gape after her.   
"Yugi…?" he muttered. Then, "You didn't! Oh, all right. Just don't let it happen again." He sighed and headed for the stairs. "Gaia? You have a message! And I need to ask you something-" 

*** 

Haku heard the scream and promptly ran from the room containing Jane to the room full of still more electronic devices, one of them being a television. In front of the television was a long couch. Seated on the couch was Mokuba Kaiba, who silently indicated the area under the couch.   
Haku knelt and tilted his head. "Sapphire?" he called. "Are you in there?" But of course he was.   
"Is it gone?"   
Haku lifted his head and looked to Mokuba for clarification. Mokuba sighed. "We were watching and then the Trix commercial came on-"   
"Trix commercial?"   
Mokuba indicated the television. "Here it is again."   
Before the Trix commercial was over and before Chihiro and Ryuunosuke entered Haku had joined Sapphire under the couch. 

*** 

After being assured by both Mokuba and her own eyes that her brothers were in no danger, just scared silly, Chihiro returned to the jigsaw puzzle Mokuba had supplied her with. All but one of the pieces was pure white, with no variation whatsoever besides the shape of the pieces; the exception, a corner piece, had on it one strawberry.   
"Seto doesn't like most of the puzzles around," Mokuba had said as he held out the box. "Most of them are too easy. He says you shouldn't feel good about something unless you've really earned it. It took me a month to finish, but when I did he got me ice cream. D'you want to give it a try?"   
Chihiro picked up another piece at random and attempted it to fit it with each of the collections of fitting pieces she had found by luck. None of them worked, so she started on the free pieces.   
"Lady Chihiro?"   
She looked up. "For the last time, Ryuunosuke, don't call me Lady." They both knew it wasn't for the last time.   
"Should I assist you?"   
"No, I'm fine. Go away."   
He nodded and left the room. Chihiro looked after him, remembering his worshipful expression whenever they happened to make eye contact. His feelings regarding her were painfully obvious, and she only wished those feelings were mutual. But they weren't.   
The world would be so much simpler if everyone had a piece of a two-piece puzzle, and if one piece fit the other they both fit, and if everyone found the other half of their puzzle. No false hopes or dreams, and no painful breakups as were so often delineated in the stories she had discovered while using Jane. The world would be so much easier, if only.   
If only all you had to do was deserve something enough and that would be enough to do whatever you wished. If only wanting alone could get someone somewhere. The world would work so much more smoothly, if only.   
"If only" wasn't the same thing as "is." Her brothers could hardly stand to look at anything remotely resembling those Toons, as the incident in the entertainment room proved. Sapphire had forbidden himself to associate with his best friend, Alexander, ever since the rivalry between their Masters became apparent. Haku had never been especially close to Black Jade, but still it made Chihiro wince to hear him do his best to imitate their Master's contempt for Jade's Master (she had heard that Jade had changed Masters, but the information was unconfirmed. She wished he had; maybe then Haku wouldn't feel obliged to do it anymore).   
And her second-youngest brother -   
She tried not to think about it. Ever since it had happened they had all done their best to forget about it, to always talk around the subject of Jewel, to never drag the hideous truth out where they had to look at it and acknowledge it.   
Their Master who was always supposed to know what was best had deliberately destroyed Jewel's card!   
It would have hurt less to look at it, to think about it, if only Seto Kaiba had believed, had wanted, had made the wish. That would have been proof that Jewel hadn't gone to receive nothing in return.   
Seto Kaiba hadn't made the wish. Mokuba Kaiba had made the wish.   
Two pieces slid into place; she picked up another one and began to repeat the process.   
_ If he does make the wish we'll be seeing Obelisk the Tormentor next. I just know it._   
Once, when she was discussing something with Gabriel (it was a time before their Master discovered Jewel's location and things got ugly, when Sandy and Sapphire were openly friends), she had compared life to a puzzle, where your goal was to put all the pieces together in their proper places, and then you would be happy. Gabriel had appreciated the metaphor very, very much.   
But now Chihiro was trying to put together her "life puzzle" and there were pieces snapped in two, pieces worn so that they no longer fit properly, pieces that simply weren't there. 

*** 

Fluffy said, "I think I remember she was a contraband dealer or something. Extra food. Special cloth. Things like that. When they decided to confiscate most all the gold-"   
Yami raised an eyebrow. "What for?"   
"For you, who else could it be for? Before they came around she got most of it together and gave it to someone on the outside."   
Tani nodded. "She made notes about who had the gold so she could pay them back later- she got me to help her with them. They found the notes, and at first they thought they could find out everyone who broke the rules, but nobody but us could read them. And she wouldn't talk."   
A nod. "I punished her, I suppose?"   
"Yeah, I remember now, ya punished her by havin' Mikey ride her. I think it was kinda a punishment for Mikey, too, 'cause he bad-mouthed your gods. He thought there was only one."   
Another nod as he looked over at Black Jade, reclining on the bed. "Now I understand how such clearly incompatible personages could ever be in a fusion."   
"It's not really a fusion," said Jade. "Not like when me an' Fluffy fusion, anyway. It's more like the horse disappears and Mikey sits on top of Kari, an' the numbers go up. Nothin' else to it." 

*** 

"Shut up," said Esper Roba, staring from the card to Dar as if the law of gravity had been declared invalid. His eyes returned to the card and he continued to stare at it, as if thinking that all of a sudden the picture would reappear.   
Dar, for his part, was trying just as hard to figure out the implications of what had just happened. He knew perfectly well what had happened: Esper had attempted to recall him to the card and the attempt had failed. The question was why did it fail?   
Maybe the human form had something to do with it? He dismissed that possibility immediately. Among the experiments they'd conducted ("My science teacher would blow a blood vessel if he saw _this_," Rex had laughed) were ones in which Ran and Sora and he had switched to human forms and Rex had attempted to call them back in. It had worked every time.   
Dar went on to other possibilities. Foremost among them was the honorable-win issue. The duel that had resulted in his card changing hands was nothing if not dishonorable. He refused to consider Esper Roba his Master, while he had never questioned Rex's authority (unlike, say, the way Job regarded Mai Valentine). Perhaps that had had something to do with it.   
Or maybe…   
The first night. Rex's parents had denied permission for them to stay for the night, since Rex had school in the morning. Rex had held up the card and asked them to go back. Dar hadn't wanted to go back; Rex hadn't wanted them to go back.   
Nothing had happened.   
They spent the night jammed under Rex's bed; Dar had exercised his shape-changing ability to its fullest extent so as to avoid being suffocated by Ran and Sora. All because none of them had really wanted to go back.   
No. That couldn't be it. Esper Roba wanted him gone; Dar had the crazy theory that he was actually jealous. Surely Esper wanted him gone. Surely…   
The door opened and Mai tipped her head into the room. "Excuse me, but, Roba, are you done chewing him out for whatever he did yet? I've pretty much run through my repertoire. Now it's your turn to show me some of yours."   
Right around then Dar had a strong urge, one that blinded and deafened, to reach out and take Esper Roba's neck and- 

*** 

Mai Valentine's first instinct was to exit the bedroom (there were blankets on the floor, anyway) screaming. She rode out the figurative storm, however, and instead followed her second instinct, staring in sick fascination as the one the Harpy Ladies had informed her was actually Serpent Night Dragon advanced on Esper Roba with a distinctly homicidal look in his eyes.   
His eyes- they had changed. Before this she was sure they were dark blood, like on the card and at Duelist Kingdom, like Helen had described. Kinda like the baddie's eyes sometimes were in kid's shows. She could see how this Dar person ("or was it Dan?" Helen had said. "Oh well. Doesn't matter") could be Serpent Night Dragon. He felt like Serpent Night Dragon. In fact, he reminded her of Rex Raptor- he had the same kind of aplomb. She couldn't see any resemblance to Job DelaSangre. He didn't have the same kinky cute-ness. Then again, he wasn't wearing that collar.   
But he didn't have Job's eyes. Or his hair.   
Anyway, he didn't look like that now. The eyes weren't even the same color. They were now a bright cerulean blue, like Kaiba's almost. And they. Weren't. Right.   
Esper's eyes widened. "Hey, what the- stay back! Stay back!" He at least had enough sense to not assume that statement would be obeyed and/or edge backwards until he was cornered, as happened in movies. Instead, he edged sideways, towards the door.   
Serpent Night Dragon came even closer…   
… then seemed to change his mind in mid-step and staggered backward, arms twin windmills. Mai didn't dare to blink as cerulean changed to purple like Yugi's, like her own, and then to the original red as he regained his balance.   
Esper sprang for the door and shoved past her. Like an idiot, she continued to stand and stare.   
He saw her. How could he not?   
"You're… Helen's Master, right?"   
Mai had heard somewhere that you should always answer the questions of a psycho. "As in the Harpy Lady? Yes…" Then she recalled her encounters with Rex Raptor and seriously considered joining Esper Roba.   
"Oh. Excuse me, please."   
She stepped aside as he rushed out, only then getting it through her brain that even though he didn't have a knife or a gun, dragons weren't known for being kind and gentle. A door slammed as she hastily departed the room to confirm the continued survival of the members of the Roba family.   
They were all there, even the baby. Mai looked to the bathroom door. It was closed. 

*** 

"We'll be fine," Esper assured her. She left, obviously unconvinced. Why would she be convinced? It wasn't true.   
"Esper," said Charlie, "the teacher said I have to get this signed. Danny's says so too."   
"Okay." Esper looked over the grades- all As and Bs, except for Charlie's C in math. He pulled out a pen and did the signatures very quickly- he could practically do it in his sleep by now. Of course, the resulting "Zachary Roba" looked nothing like the "Zachary Roba" he wrote on his own homework.   
Charlie and Danny had long ago gotten over any moral qualms. After all, their father was unavailable, and, as Esper, pointed out, the teachers called him Zachary Roba. So he wasn't lying, exactly. "Thanks, Esper! Are you sure you don't want the burger?"   
"Yes," Esper didn't say.   
"Actually… oh, all right."   
He ate it third by third while looking up the solutions to the crossword puzzle he had been working on Sunday night. Sure enough, a four-letter word for donkey was Roba. He considered apologizing, but the bathroom door was locked and he didn't feel like apologizing to someone who had just been about to kill him. 

*** Dar threw up into the toilet, flushing before he could look at the contents. No sooner was this accomplished than he started again.   
"_He_ was the evil one, not me," he muttered in a clear moment. "Not me. Do I eat humans? No. Do I kill humans? No. Do I look down on humanity in general? No, I do not. And I did not break Esper Roba's neck back there. I did _not_."   
_ But you almost did._   
"Shut up." The clear was over, and by now most of the contents of his stomach had been expelled.   
_No. I have shut up for over a thousand years. Now it is _your _turn to shut up._   
Some liquid that wasn't spit or blood proper was streaming into the toilet. He straightened up after a while and wiped his mouth on one sleeve.   
_ Nothing can be hidden forever. If you took a stone and buried it, sooner or later someone would dig it up. If you threw a jewel into a river, a fish would swallow it, and then be caught, and it would be rediscovered. If you usurp a body, sooner or later the soul will come back._   
Dar made fists as he continued to stare at the space above the bathroom counter, the place where a mirror would go in the Raptor house. But this wasn't the Raptor house. Even if it was, it would make no difference. He knew what he would see.   
_ Rest assured, I won't evict you. You've apparently taken good care of my property, and I'm sure I owe you something for that. But this is I. Even you are I. And don't you forget it. Now- what to kill-? How about him? You don't have any reason to care for him, do you? Didn't he cheat? Nobody worthwhile would miss him._   
_ You. Are. Not. Laying. One. Finger. On. Him._   
_ Would you rather I make you fly south?_   
You can't!   
_ Oh yes I can. I'll learn the mysteries of the dragons, soon enough. Would you prefer I take a knife- I'll find one somewhere- and pay Rex Raptor a little visit?_   
Dar felt himself changing to his natural form, only this time he didn't have any say in the matter- and all of a sudden he _did _have a say.   
The now unnecessary human clothes fell to the floor. Dar stretched out beside them.   
_ Well? Start learning the mysteries, then._   
_ Why you_- change back right now!   
_ No, I like it this way._   
_ I'll make you do it then!_   
At that moment, right when Dar was resigning himself to day after day of irritation until the inevitable cracking, one of the most unlikely saviors in the world happened along.   
Dar reached out one claw onto the ant. It never knew what hit it.   
_ There. The insect is smashed. It is dead. It is killed._ Now _are you happy?_   



	7. The Kaiba House

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, I guess the dramatis personae could use a few updates... I didn't mention Tristan or Jane. Not to mention Angela doesn't look like she'll show up anytime soon. Probably because I wasn't sure I'd use Tristan, and I didn't really consider Jane a personae when I started out. Oh, and by the way, Jane's name comes from the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. 

ALEX WARLORN SPECIAL: ... *takes a deep breath* I NEVER said Dark Magician Girl was with Arkana. In case you misunderstood, I said she was the sister of Arkana's Dark Magicians. And please don't run to me with words you don't know. Try a dictionary first.   
Hikari and Tani gave Pegasus knuckle sandwiches. That should be in the dictionary- at least a slang dictionary.   
*sighs*... Black Jade, that's the LAST time you use a noun as a verb! I don't care about the stupid accent!   
No, those weren't an illusion, in Chapter Four he borrowed some of Rex's clothes, remember?   
And just in case you don't get the first section of this chapter... rewatch the first part of Esper vs. Joey, when Joey walked in on the tail end of Esper vs. Rex, and listen very closely to something BESIDES Esper yapping... 

WARNING: More angst in this chapter, not to mention insect death. Not to mention bad chess references, an un-totally-evil Yami Bakura, medium-rare hamburger commercials, a very annoying Copycat, and a bunch of other stuff I either forgot or don't feel like mentioning. 

Seven: The Kaiba House   
November 4, 2003 "Danny, I didn't know you snored!"   
Danny folded his arms. "I do NOT snore!"   
"Well, Tommy's too little and I know_ I_ wasn't!"   
"I said I don't snore!"   
"And I say you do so!"   
"And_ I _say he didn't."   
The twins turned and gaped at Dar, who had just appeared from the bathroom. "That's the_ last_ time," he continued, "I sleep uncoiled."   
It took a while for the meaning of his words to penetrate, and then they were laughing hysterically.   
"Morning, Dar," said Tommy as he ran into the bathroom and shut the door. "What took you so long?"   
"Oh," he said, "I was squashing some bugs. That's all. Really." 

*** 

"Good morning, Chihiro."   
Chihiro nodded. "Same to you, Jane. Please begin new search. Restrict search: Battle City database, duelists' rarest cards."   
"Hey, only Mokuba has to say please, you know."   
"I like to say please, is all," said Chihiro. "Query: Dark Magician. Please."   
"Ah, Dark Magician. Looking for a punching bag?" Chihiro regarded Jane with a frosty stare until, "I get the picture. No more jokes. Now displaying all duelists with Dark Magician at stake."   
Chihiro lifted an eyebrow. "There's only one displayed."   
"That's the only one. Duelist name is Yugi Motou. List credentials?"   
A shake of the head. "No, that's not the right one. The color's wrong. Are you sure this is the only one?"   
"Yes." Pause. "Unless you wish me to search the Eliminated Duelists database."   
"Yes, do that."   
"Displaying all eliminated duelists who _used_ to have a Dark Magician."   
Chihiro leaned close to the monitor, which once again had precisely one result. "Yes, that's it!"   
"Duelist name is Derek Arkana. List credentials?"   
"No. Search for Derek Arkana's Battle City duels."   
An incredulous whistle came from the speakers. "One battle. His first and last one. Opponent was Yugi Motou. There's a definite aberration here."   
Chihiro forced herself to stop leaning forward and straighten up. "Describe the nature of the aberration."   
"The majority of the battle was blocked from all but the most sophisticated technology."   
"Display data from the most sophisticated technology. Move-by-move summary, please."   
"I'm one step ahead of you this time. Did you know this one had _two_ Dark Magicians?"   
"Oh really."   
"I kid you not. He did. I suspect he was hoping to gain Yugi Motou's Dark Magician, making it three. Then he would challenge Kaiba for the Blue Eyes White Dragons."   
Chihiro formed a half-smile. "Well, then, he wouldn't have gotten us even if he won."   
"What- oh, yes, the God Card. I see. Yugi Motou's Dark Magician Girl made the final move. Would you like me to run a simulation of the duel?"   
"No thank you. Begin new search. Query: Derek Arkana."   
"Will do."   
Chihiro looked over the results- quite a few articles in the entertainment sections of virtual newspapers had popped up. She skimmed a few of those; they all said basically the same thing. "Open the hospital records."   
"These records are not for members of the public."   
"Well then," said Chihiro, "I suppose I'm a member of the private. Open the hospital records."   
"The security is quite heavy-"   
"Are you saying you're not up to the challenge?"   
Chihiro's question had the desired result. "Hospital records, coming right up." 

*** 

"Yugi Motou."   
The Puzzle glowed. "Seto Kaiba," said Yami. "What brings you here?"   
"Besides my educational obligations?" His tone was mocking; _he_, he seemed to be saying between the lines, had no obligations whatsoever and was only playing along for convenience's sake. "I discovered a glitch in my Duel Disk. However, it has been handled roughly lately. I would like to examine yours to see if it shares the glitch."   
Yami's eyebrow lifted. Kaiba would never be rough with his technology, and he would _never, ever_ openly admit to anyone that there was even the smallest glitch. It was the most blatant pretense he had ever seen. "And what would this glitch be?"   
Kaiba smiled in acknowledgment that Yami was on to him. "It causes all level seven spellcasters of the Dark attribute to be automatically destroyed upon being summoned."   
"Well, that is definitely not a problem with my own." Yami turned away as if he had someplace important to go. Kaiba grabbed his arm.   
"No. Listen to me." His voice dropped. "Ever since Sunday I have had Lord of Dragons and all three Blue Eyes residing in my house. On Monday, an off-color Dark Magician materialized in the dining room. He claimed he intended to visit his cousin."   
"Would this cousin's name be Gabriel?"   
"Yes, that's right. Now, explain the cause of all this!"   
"You haven't visited the museum yet?"   
"I visited the museum all right! And all I got was another lecture on destiny! Then she went off to talk to some kid with white hair and said to come back later!"   
"That would be Bakura. And you came back later?"   
"Yes. She wasn't there."   
It was Yami's turn to smile. "Are you sure you came back later before the museum closed?"   
"Very funny, Yugi." The smile had gone. "I know you know something, and I am going to find out what."   
"Well… I know what I know. Maybe you could pay a visit to Pegasus and ask to borrow the Millennium Eye, if you want to know what I know I know."   
"That was so funny I forgot to laugh."   
Right then the bell began to ring ("But that's NOT a bell!" Yami had protested. "It's a buzzer! Why does 'modern' mean 'makes no sense'?") and the conversation was cut short. 

*** 

"Hey, Jade!"   
Jade looked up. "Yeah? You're goin' to torture Pegasus again?"   
Hikari shook her head. "The security's too high now. I was just going to have a meeting with my business partner, and I wondered if there was anything special you wanted."   
"Yeah- could ya get him to find out Joey's favorites?"   
"Favorite what?"   
Jade traced vague patterns in the air with one hand. "Favorite food, favorite ice cream, stuff like that." 

*** 

"Little sister," said Haku, "Don't you have that stupid puzzle to work on?" Chihiro turned from Jane to regard him with a frigid stare. "Okay, okay, I get it, backing off, shutting up."   
Something hit his back as he left the room. He didn't bother to turn around and see what it was; the impulse never struck him to throw it back at her. She was, after all, the older twin.   
It was going to be one of those days.   
They had been given guest bedrooms at a far corner of the mansion; their Master had apparently not seen fit to pay for their upkeep for quite a while, considering he had few to no guests. There had been a prodigious amount of dust when Mokuba Kaiba flung open the doors, and whenever Haku looked at the room designated as his, he saw it with that dust all over.   
Of course their Master had called someone to clean them, and now it was immaculate, but the image remained.   
Haku sat on the bed for a while before coming to the conclusion that there was absolutely nothing interesting to be done and heading out the door.   
On impulse, he looked into Sapphire's room.   
Sapphire was sleeping, still in human form (his natural form wouldn't have fit on the bed- he might be a child emotionally, his human form might look like a child, but as far as dragons went he had already had his growth spurt). For a moment, it was peaceful sleep as well, but as Haku took a step closer, he grabbed the blankets, pulled them over his head, and screamed. "GET AWAY FROM ME! NO, I'M NOT ANYTHING LIKE YOU! I AM NOT A TOON! GET AWAY!"   
Haku took a few more steps, then took the same amount backward. He kept on going backward until he had left the room.   
The first night out of the Shadow Realm, Sapphire had been in the room adjacent to Mokuba's; Mokuba's room was adjacent to that of his older brother. Apparently, Mokuba had a lot of questions to ask him, and Sapphire had been obliging. He needed another friend.   
Haku hadn't discovered Sapphire had been screaming in his sleep until the morning, when he had gone downstairs with Chihiro to see an extremely frazzled Seto Kaiba and an even more frazzled Ryuunosuke. Last night, Sapphire had been moved to his current room. There had been no words about it; it just was, and they acknowledged it.   
Haku leaned against the wall and stared at the one opposite for no reason he could think of except that the wall opposite was plain white, no distractions from his self-berating.   
He could have done it if he had tried, he was sure. There had to have been some way to stop what had happened. He had heard rumors of others doing it through sheer force of will. Gabriel, for instance, had done it for his Master to draw the final piece of Exodia when their Masters battled. Geoffrey Giltia had done the same for his own Master to draw the card to effect Alexander Sang's transformation (The last was not a rumor. Alexander had been blaring the news everywhere, especially to Sapphire, as it was before the tension between their Masters, and if there was one thing Alexander Sang could never be, that was a liar).   
Gabriel- now that was completely unconfirmed. Besides, Gabriel was a spellcaster, not to mention the Pharaoh's Servant; perhaps he had special abilities. But Geoffrey's case was confirmed twenty-odd times over, and Geoffrey was a complete amateur at magic. He hadn't been anything particularly special Before, either.   
If Geoffrey could have made his Master draw Time Wizard (the next duel, Haku heard, Geoffrey had made his Master draw both Alexander and the Time Wizard, but it hadn't worked out too well), Haku should have been able to make his Master draw a stupid De-Spell. A magic card was a magic card was a magic card. Even if it was a magic card that had the ability to completely warp logic.   
He _could _have done it, he was sure. He was sure. But he hadn't done it.   
He hadn't even been summoned! He had made no contribution whatsoever!   
He was sure that if only he could have done it Sapphire wouldn't be screaming at night.   
Haku moved away from the wall, then turned his head again. This time he was looking into Chihiro's room.   
It was just as austere as Haku's and Sapphire's. Just about the only difference was the half-formed puzzle, spread out across a shiny wood table. It was all pure white, except for something red in one corner.   
Chihiro had spoken of puzzles once. Life was a puzzle, she had said, and to be truly happy you had to put all the pieces together. She was crazy about puzzles, about logic. Haku was, too, but not to the fanatical extent that Chihiro was. Before, he remembered, she had spent long hours toying with imitations of The Puzzle around the neck of the Pharaoh. They had learned to play chess from Michael and Geoffrey, and Haku was fairly good at it (he even managed to beat Jane in one out of two tries on maximum level) but Chihiro could beat both Michael and Geoffrey in a thousand out of a thousand games.   
Haku remembered once that Michael, who had only been playfully exasperated then (it was a long time before the duel in which he had developed a near-permanent grudge against Haku for happening to be the one to blast him), had asked how she could do it. She had smiled and said, "I like to put pieces in their places."   
In this case she had spoken to Gabriel about it (it was before things got ugly) and Haku had overheard and asked her later, "What does the puzzle look like when it's put together?"   
"I don't know," she had said. "I think it's different for everyone."   
Haku had cogitated on this for a time, but recently it had been shoved into his subconscious. Which meant, of course, that it turned up in his dreams.   
Last night's dream, for example. He had dreamed he was putting together a puzzle in the middle of a fiery ring. Beyond the ring was a moving darkness, from which came maniacal laughter. And the ring was shrinking.   
He hadn't been sure what the puzzle would look like, but he kept on jamming random pieces together, one after another, and sometimes they fit. He had kept on doing it, and doing it, and doing it, as the ring grew so close and so hot that he felt like he was slowly dehydrating.   
And then (in his dream) he had put in the last piece, and stood up, and immediately fallen down again.   
The puzzle's picture had been of his Master. And standing beside him was Obelisk the Tormentor.   
Haku had awakened with the blanket jammed in his mouth, probably the only reason he didn't scream like Sapphire.   
He backed away from Chihiro's room and went on to go and play several games of chess with himself. White always won. 

*** 

BOOM!   
The various people in the Wheeler house (none of them actual Wheelers) finally verified that there had been no casualties, just some singing of clothes.   
"Geoffrey," said Sandy, "I do believe you should refrain from casting spells on vinegar and baking soda."   
Geoffrey colored, a regular reaction for most people rebuked by a precocious dragon. Unlike Michael, he was smart enough to not sputter incoherently while putting together a response. "How was I supposed to know it would do that?"   
"I think you oughta run that kinda stuff by Gabe before ya actually do it."   
Geoffrey, Sandy, and Brendan turned almost as one. Red eyes flashed and a hand reached up to brush back dark spiky hair.   
"Very funny, Ken," said Geoffrey. "Now stop it before I lock you in the same room with a Blue Eyes White Dragon."   
Ken grinned and immediately held a mirror before his face; the glare from it was tremendous. When it went away he had approximated the features of Haku Snow; the only variation was the grin. If the true Blue Eyes White Dragon ever smiled that wide, Geoffrey reflected, his face would probably crack.   
"I forgot to laugh," said Sandy. "Ha. Ha. Ha. There. Now get out before I figure out how to get out Time Wizard without Joey wishing it."   
Ken's grin widened. "Sorry. Would this be better?" Another flash of the mirror and he was to all appearances the human form of Dar DelaSangre- except something wasn't right.   
"Copycat Ken," yelled Geoffrey, regaining the color in his face, which had just begun to fade, "Dar is _not _that kind of a person! And we're _not _in that way! If you're going to impersonate him, at least do it right!"   
"I don't believe," said Sandy, "Geoffrey appreciated that. Next time maybe you ought to make sure you didn't _accidentally _mix up Serpent Night Dragon with Harpy Lady." Thirty seconds later- "And I doubt Jinzo is the best choice to mix him up with, either."   
Ken went to his natural state and stalked off, muttering, "You have _no_ sense of humor, you know that?" 

*** 

"Good morning, Master."   
No response but breathing.   
"All right then, Master," Cassiel muttered, putting down the new meal and picking up the dinner leftovers. He headed for the door. "Whatever you say, Master. Whatever you say."   
Aaron greeted him with, "You dreamed about That."   
Cassiel didn't reply, knowing Aaron would continue regardless. And he did.   
"Any idiot could have figured it out." Aaron began to count off on his fingers. "Proof one: You were screaming like to make zombies cringe. Nothing short of Raigeki could make you scream that loud. Proof two: You actually left a little bit. I pushed you back in." Aaron sat down and took several bites from the food on his plate before continuing. "Proof three: You were screaming to Him."   
Cassiel started on his own plate. He took small bites out of an already-small piece of potato, somehow hoping that Aaron would leave it like that. But if Aaron really did leave it at that, Cassiel would believe him delirious.   
"You either don't remember or you're pretending not to. But _I_ remember. You were _begging_ him not to do it. You were saying don't do it, please don't do it, anything but this. But," Aaron concluded, looking back at the bedroom, "I guess he did it anyway. Didn't he?" It wasn't a question.   
Cassiel nodded, then attempted to concentrate on the food.   
"I thought you'd like to know the last scream really woke Him up."   
The fork dropped. Cassiel put his hand against his forehead and leaned his elbow on the table. "What did you do to Master this time?"   
"I just put him to sleep. But I used the Duplicating Sleep spell…" Aaron laughed, though it didn't have quite as much heart as the one he had produced when telling Cassiel what he had done with his staff. "I imagine he had quite interesting dreams after that. Don't you think so?" No words from Cassiel. "Oh, forget it. Just forget it." 

*** 

Hikari located Bakenrenef easily. He was the only person in the restaurant who had white hair and wasn't a senior citizen, not to mention one of the few alone at their table.   
Hikari walked up, not bothering with introductions, and sat down. Job, after a dubious glance at the Ring, followed her lead.   
"What happens to the black king?" said Bakenrenef.   
They had worked it out during their conversation outside the Game Shop, swapping the two parts on paper so that there was no chance Yami would overhear. She grinned. "The white pawn takes the black king. Checkmate."   
A nod. Right then the waiter arrived. "I took the liberty of ordering," said Bakenrenef as the plates and glasses were set down. He death-glared the waiter, who hastily left. "Do medium rare hamburgers sound agreeable to the two of you?"   
Job laughed. "Are you joking? The most important things in life are matching hearts and medium rare hamburgers!"   
"I could dispute the bit about the hearts, but yes, I do believe medium rare hamburgers are among the best things present-day mortals have come up with." Bakenrenef emphasized this by taking a large bite from his. "Besides firearms and computer theft, of course. But this is so much more accessible. "   
"You've got that right." Job took an even larger bite from his own. "Oh, you've got that right."   
"The top four important things in life," said Hikari, "are medium rare hamburgers, control, bug spray- and of course matching hearts. Not necessarily in that order."   
"Bug spray?" Bakenrenef shook his head. "I'm not even going to ask. What do you have to give?"   
Hikari grinned, produced an envelope from a pants pocket, and threw it on the table. "You should have seen the look on Michael's face when he was handing it over. I'd bet my tail he only did it because he already asked the Pharaoh and the Pharaoh said-"   
"-No," he finished the sentence. "How did you get out of there, anyway? I could have sworn the Pharaoh shut you in the Shadow Realm."   
"You don't have to sound so disappointed." Hikari finally joined her companions in burger biting. She chewed and swallowed before continuing. "Yugi wished me out again when he wasn't looking."   
"Present-day humans seem to love double crosses, don't they?" He took a sip from his glass. "First mine, and now yours… what did you hear of that battle?"   
"Brendan had strange vibes. Then Morgan and Gabriel had them, too. But we didn't see anything. Elaine had to tell us."   
"All right then." Bakenrenef raised an eyebrow and scrutinized the tape liberally wound around the envelope. "I take it he doesn't trust you."   
"Of course he doesn't. According to him all dragons are damned to hell within a second of their birth. Possibly before."   
"How in the name of Ra is she supposed to get it open?"   
"Ever wonder what those 'letter openers' are for besides convenient murder weapons? Ever consider the possibility that some present-day humans might actually use them for opening letters?"   
"Ah. But he never considered you might use one?"   
She shrugged. "Michael's an idiot that way."   
"Dar!" Job yelled. "Hey, Dar!" 

*** 

Dar turned and headed over at the sound of Job's voice. Job motioned him to a vacant seat; he complied. "Someone's been looking for you."   
Job groaned. "I know. And did you happen to tell them?"   
"I didn't know where you were."   
"And that was the only reason you didn't tell them?" Silence. "Your numbers may be higher, but you are an absolute pushover for girls with wings, you know that?"   
"Well, now I know that."   
"My cousin the aspiring wit." Job shook his head. "My cousin the aspiring wit and his friend the aspiring Dark Magician. I think Giltia's got a hell of a lot better chance." He indicated the three-quarters-devoured hamburger. "I'm feeling generous. Have some?"   
"No thanks."   
"What, are my tastes not high enough for you?" Job mimicked a sophisticated tone; it probably would have done Ken proud. "I think you have been hanging around the sisters too much while attempting romantic overtures and some of their habits have rubbed off. Hey," he said, getting back to his normal voice, "Just kidding. I get it. I probably wouldn't eat your leftovers, either." 

*** 

Mai looked up to take note of the newest customer, and blinked.   
Her hair was a pale blond like Bakura's, and if Mai didn't know better (as in Bakura's case) she would swear it was pure white. Only senior citizens, after all, had really white hair. And this one couldn't be older than Mai herself. She put her age at around the same as that guy on Sunday night; they had the same odd feeling around them (she could label it now if not name it), like they didn't quite belong, like they had accidentally fallen out of a past or future into the present time.   
She wandered around the store for a while. Just as Mai was about to ask her whether she wanted to buy anything, she turned in the direction of the register. "Excuse me."   
"Yes?"   
"Can you give me directions to Clarion Street?" She produced some papers that were probably computer printouts from one of those sites that gave directions.   
Mai looked them over; they appeared to be to her own apartment building. Then again, there were lots of people living there. "Well, these are directions by car. Tell you what, I'll give you directions if you'll tell me who you're visiting." It was a dumb ploy, but it worked. Kind of.   
She regarded Mai with a frigid stare that would rival Kaiba's best (her eyes looked a bit like his as well) and replied, "If you must know, I believe he goes by Cassiel. If you don't ask me another question and just give me the damned directions, you will benefit from it. I promise this."   
"Okay…"   
Mai gave her the directions. She flipped a business card and a hundred-dollar bill onto the counter and walked out the door.   
Mai scrutinized the business card and wondered what Kaiba was up to now. 

*** 

"So you're the one they talked about. Ryuunosuke, is it?"   
Ryuunosuke jumped nearly a foot upward and dropped the Flute of Summoning Dragon (why they called it a flute when it was actually more of a horn he had no idea). Then he turned to gape at the computer.   
"What, you've never heard of me? Seto didn't tell you?" It sounded quite insulted, like Haku sounded whenever he was compared to Black Jade.   
Ryuunosuke shook his head and the tone softened. "Well, I am currently the most advanced Artificial Intelligence program on Spaceship Earth. I can answer most questions not involving theology or such. I possess the most efficient help and search programs Kaiba Corporation has turned out to date. My security is high but not overly intrusive. My sound analysis technology can currently distinguish between six different voices, not to mention their various moods. It has the capacity for several hundred. Not to mention I can play an extremely challenging chess game.   
"My official name is Kaiba Corporation Artificial Intelligence Module Alpha-Jane-0001. You can call me Jane."   
Ryuunosuke managed to squeak out, "Yes… Jane."   
"Creating new user record. Please state the name you would like me to call you by twice, in your most normal voice, if you please."   
He had to wait for what seemed like forever before he became fairly sure he wouldn't squeak again. "Ryuunosuke. Ryuunosuke."   
"Please state the primary password you would like to use."   
"Tiamat."   
"Please state your primary password again."   
"Tiamat."   
"Please state your secondary password twice. This will allow access into your more private files. It's okay if you whisper this one."   
Ryuunosuke took her up on her offer, leaning close to where he guessed his voice entered. If anyone had been standing right next to him, they wouldn't have heard. Only Jane could have. "Chihiro Snow. Chihiro Snow."   



	8. Helper of Dragons

AUTHOR'S NOTES:   
Fire Pendant: Well, the current Chapter Eleven of Crisis of Faith is so sappy it would make Téa hurl. Until I can think of a better ending... sorry, but it's going to stay like that for a while.   
JaguarKitty2006: Well, I think Hibiki Ryouga and Tendou Akane from Ranma 1/2 would make a cute couple, but, alas, like Chihiro and Ryuunosuke, it is not to be. Sorry to disappoint you. I'll put up some pairings now, just to avoid further disappointments. 

ALEX WARLORN: If you couldn't find it in the dictionary... *sighs* A taboo is something forbidden. Or something like that. But I'm no dictionary. I do believe we have slightly different versions of the Tiamat story. According to mine, she was seeking revenge because one of the early gods killed her husband. Of course Chihiro's the older twin, and Haku knows it. If you recall, he called her "older sister" in Chapter One. But they're twins, after all, so it's possible their ages could get mixed up. Haku just does it on purpose. He likes to think of himself as an annoying older brother, not an annoying younger brother. 

CURRENT PAIRINGS: Chihiro/Cassiel (Blue Eyes White Dragon/Red Dark Magician)   
Joey/Black Jade (Red Eyes Black Dragon)   
Michael/Elaine (Gaia the Fierce Knight/Lady of Faith)   
Hikari/Job(Curse of Dragon/Harpy's Pet Dragon).   
I'm considering another yaoi pairing- read and see if you can guess what it is. If there's enough support for it, I might turn it into something. But only if you review, OK? 

WARNINGS: This fic contains yaoi/slash/shounen ai (nothing explicit), some bad language, bad chess references, an un-totally-evil Yami Bakura, bad haiku, bad Japanese, a somewhat homicidal knight, a nosy Seto Kaiba, and probably a bunch of other stuff I forgot. 

Eight: The Helper of Dragons The doorbell rang.   
Cassiel hurried to the door and opened it just the slightest bit. "Yes?"   
"Is Derek Arkana in?"   
He knew that voice. "Why do you want to see him?"   
"I want to clobber him over the head with Ryuunosuke's flute." She laughed. "I think Hikari Kenshin's violent tendencies are rubbing off."   
"No, really, why?"   
"Why don't you come out for a minute?"   
Cassiel pushed the door open, after looking backward at Aaron, who smiled and gave him a sign with his thumb (yes, Aaron had learned quite a few new things) and stepped out into the hall.   
"I apologize for my Master's reaction."   
"It was all right. It could have been worse." Cassiel looked down, avoiding her eyes.   
"'Could have been worse' is not synonymous with 'acceptable.'"   
"All right. All right. Was there anything else you came for?"   
"How long have you been with _him_?"   
Cassiel decided after only a minute of mental deliberation that he would answer; after another minute he decided what his answer would be. In between, he was certain, he looked like a gaping idiot. "… a long time. Why do you ask?"   
"How did he get you?"   
"How do you mean?" She reminded him of Aaron- she was steering him toward something he didn't want to see. Only she didn't come out and say it, like Aaron did.   
"Did he buy one of those little packs and your card was in it? Did he win you, like what happens in Battle City? Or did he steal you, like Pegasus did to Sapphire?"   
"He did not! Steal me, I mean." Cassiel had heard many things about a Pegasus- none of them were good things. In his mind he began trying to untangle fact from fiction.   
As he did, she sighed. "Barring an extreme change of circumstances, I'm not going to clobber him. I would like to do it to Pegasus, but- do you watch the news?"   
"Where would I watch it? On one of those new things?"   
"Yes, one of those that looks kind of like a box, a large one-" She gestured with her hands, presumably showing him the approximate size "-and the front is dark unless you press a-"   
"Yes, I think Master has one of those. We didn't know what to do with it."   
"Someone attacked Pegasus yesterday."   
He blinked. "Attacked?"   
"Walked in and punched him, then ran. They haven't found who did it yet. Apparently security has been high ever since. Too high for convenience."   
Cassiel shuddered and closed his eyes. His Master hadn't felt like waiting to draw an equip card to raise Cassiel's power enough to take out the defense monster. Too inconvenient. So he had instead used a "convenient" magic card…   
"Excuse me?" He opened his eyes and hastily apologized. "Oh, it's all right. Sapphire and Ryuunosuke do that sometimes, and I like them well enough. I like Gabriel well enough." She leaned against the wall, and Cassiel instinctively joined her. "I wouldn't know about Gabriel doing it, though. The last I saw of him was when that thing made me attack him. Sapphire got him the time when my true Master was dueling."   
"Sapphire-?"   
"My younger brother. You've never heard of him?"   
"He's another Blue Eyes White Dragon?"   
"Exactly. How perceptive." She obviously saw his expression. "I didn't mean it to come across as sarcastic. How did you know who_ I_ was?"   
"Your hair, eyes, teeth, and Master."   
"Ah. That makes sense." 

*** 

Dar saw them when he was aimlessly wandering around Lantern City, several hours after taking his leave of Job and Hikari and Bakenrenef.   
The bullies- they reminded him of some of the hacks in this year's regional championships that Rex had had the pleasure of steamrollering. He would probably have recalled last year's regional championships (that was the time Rex had won them all, according to Ran and Sora), but he hadn't come to Rex until after then. That was the first thing he saw.   
Charlie and Danny Roba, holding unwieldy book bags, looking like they wanted to fall through a convenient hole in the sidewalk. That was the second thing.   
Finally, these two things were arranged in his mind, and he realized that the bullies were on either side of the Roba brothers, as well as blocking the entrance to the nearest building, which was an echo of the Domino schools. Their only escape route was across the street to Dar, and that path was gradually closing as well. That was the third thing.   
_ I wish that Serpent Night Dragon were real so the bullies won't bother us._   
Dar smiled grimly as he felt something stirring in the back of his mind. He was sure his eyes were changing color right around now.   
_ Well, you got your wish._

*** 

"Hey. Back off."   
Daniel gasped and held his book bag even tighter.   
Dar had just sprinted across the street and was now standing there quite casually, arms at his sides, smiling as if the situation was completely different. "Who started the party without me?"   
"Oh, look, some idiot's playing hero!"   
Daniel didn't look around frantically for an escape route, which would show weakness. Instead he looked straight ahead, at Dar, who smiled even wider and winked.   
And then Dar's eyes went… funny. They turned bright purple, and then from purple came blue like his favorite crayon color. His smile went funny, too. It had more of an edge to it.   
"Well? You are obstructing the sidewalk. I suggest that you move."   
From the angry murmurs, Daniel concluded they didn't like that idea.   
"Oh," someone yelled, "you wanna save the little freaks? Then you'll have to go through us first!"   
_Well_, Daniel thought,_ someone's been watching too much TV._

*** 

"If you insist… but do remember that you brought this on yourself."   
Daniel noted that the bullies were all eighth-graders. The oldest one was fourteen or so. And Dar looked more like he was in his late teens. The bullies seemed to notice this too, as they paled and began to back away.   
Then one broke the backward trend, ran forward, and punched Dar. Soon they were all running forward. Like lemmings off a cliff, though the teacher had said that wasn't really what lemmings did, it was just something made up.   
Dar smiled and flung out his hands. Dark spheres were glowing in his palms. "Don't say I didn't warn you. NIGHTMARE SONIC BLAST!"   
Daniel dove for cover, yanking Charlie with him, and not a moment too soon. 

*** 

"Hey, Esper!"   
He nodded in response. "They didn't notice, did they?"   
Tommy grinned. "No, they didn't. They're stupid."   
"Why don't we go get the twins now." It wasn't a question. Esper knew the way from day after day of following it, so he permitted his body to run on autopilot while he engaged in mental activity.   
They weren't quite as stupid as Tommy claimed they were; some of their ignorance was definitely owed to his machinations. He had always managed to finagle his way out of any situation where any of the many adults whose jobs put them in contact with the Roba brothers wanted to meet Zachary Senior. They had all managed to maintain good grades, so there was no reason for suspicion. And if food was sometimes scarce, it wasn't so much to make it obvious to the casual observer.   
The thing with Ms. Malloy regarding his job and taking care of Kyosuke had been arranged before things fell apart. Mom had tried to dissuade him from the job, saying that they didn't need the money, and what about school? But his grades had remained stellar, so she had acquiesced. The month after that…   
Ms. Malloy had continued to take care of Kyosuke during school hours, though how she did it while running the store, Esper had no clue. Maybe she shunted him off to a relative. Anyway, she too didn't know. His father was out (that was technically true), he said to any callers, visiting the cemetery, at his job, off getting drunk, anywhere but at the apartment.   
Once, in desperation, all his excuses seeming impossibly stale, he had managed to deepen his voice enough to approximate his father's, and claimed to be in a hurry. He still used this gimmick, but he used it rarely.   
Tommy's yelp yanked him out of his automatic pace.   
"Charlie! Danny! Are you okay?"   
Charlie pulled himself up and gave them a shaky grin. "Never been better!"   
Esper's eyes expanded as he looked at the people sprawled around in front of the school. "They aren't… are they?"   
Danny, too, was on his feet. He shook his head. "No, they're still breathing, see? I think we'd better be going, don't you?"   
Esper considered the extreme likelihood of police interest in this incident, and nodded. 

*** 

Rigel opened the door. "He was very good today," he said. "I thought I was dreaming."   
"Kyosuke, you mean?" A nod. "I'd like to thank you for helping the twins today…"   
Rigel blinked. "Twins? I apologize, Master. I do not know what you refer to."   
"Well, something had to have done that to the bullies, and I thought-"   
"Whoever it was, it wasn't me, Master."   
"Then…" Esper blinked. "It was Cyber Raider? Fiend Megacyber? Maybe… Jinzo?" Sure, Jinzo was currently in Joey Wheeler's deck (if he wasn't a coaster), but he could hope, couldn't he? "Was it Jinzo?"   
"No," said Charlie, "It was Dar. You know, Serpent Night Dragon?"   
Open mouth. Insert foot. 

*** 

Haku leaned back and surveyed the results of his work. It was as simple as requesting the opening of a file. All the passwords in the world wouldn't protect you if you forgot to log off. Haku knew what he was doing was technically wrong; he knew he should at least tell Ryuunosuke.   
But that could be done later. Anyway, he'd always wanted to know what Ryuunosuke did when he thought no one was looking. 

*** 

_ I don't know why I'm doing this, exactly. Maybe just to have something that's all my own. My name is Ryuunosuke. I might have had another one, but that was a long time ago. Back when still sometimes they called Chihiro Tiamat._   
_ Not many people know she has got three names, Chihiro and Tiamat and Snow. I couldn't say Tiamat so I called her Chihiro which was the name her mother gave her. Soon her brothers started doing it too- her mother already did, and by the time I came to them their father had gone. They never said what happened to him. Maybe they didn't know._   
_ But enough about that…_

*** 

The rest of the document was blank.   
"Sneaky, aren't you?"   
Haku nearly fell out of the chair. "Um… hello, Jane." He should have guessed she could tell the difference between his voice and Ryuunosuke's.   
"So, now that you've had a preview, I think I should warn you that the rest of the document has another level of security. I think he meant to lock the entire thing, but he hasn't quite got the hang of it yet. But this is harmless enough, wouldn't you say?"   
Haku didn't answer for a moment. He'd bet his own card that he knew exactly what Ryuunosuke's secondary password would be. And for some reason, he wished it were his own name Ryuunosuke would whisper. "Yes, I guess so."   
"Now, why don't you get out of his files and into more salutary material. How about a nice relaxing game of chess? White, right?"   
It actually scared him for a moment but then again she'd probably kept track of how many times he accessed the program. "Yes, that would be good. Thank you, Jane." 

*** 

"And, in other news, a group of eighth-graders were found unconscious outside a Lantern City middle school. They are all in stable condition at Domino Medical Center. Doctors have found nothing that suggests a possible cause for this unusual occurrence."   
Angela looked from the TV. "Ma- Téa?" she called. "I saw it."   
Téa looked up from her algebra. "Hm?"   
"On the news- the teenagers?"   
Téa reached for a can of soda. "What about them?"   
"Serpent Night Dragon did it."   
Coke nearly spewed all over the couch. As it was, Téa only started to gag and clapped her hand over her mouth. Any fugitive liquid wound up on her fingers. She swallowed and turned to face Angela. "You're kidding. That creepy dragon Rex Raptor sent out against Joey? That's impossible!"   
Angela shook her head. "No, I saw him do it to them. He reached out his hands, like this-" she demonstrated. "-and then-"   
"Serpent Night Dragon doesn't have hands!"   
"He was in human form, like me." Angela sighed. "-and then he said the name of his attack. And then he attacked."   
Téa growled. "It figures someone like that would do something like that to those kids. He probably just did it for kicks." 

*** 

"Black Jade? I've got it."   
Jade hastily took the paper and set down the pocket Japanese dictionary he had been browsing through. "Um… arigatou, Kenshin-hime? Is that right?"   
"No," she said, "not 'hime.' That means 'lady.' You'd be better off using it for Elaine. Then again, she probably wouldn't understand…"   
"Ah. Is it Kenshin-sama, then?"   
"Now that's overdoing it a bit."   
"Okay, then, should I just stick with Kari?"   
"Yeah, Kari's fine with me. Oh, and I can't vouch for Bakenrenef's current reliability. As a result, ethics force me to not ask for payment."   
Jade grinned. "And Mikey says you have no ethics."   
"'Mikey' is an idiot."   
"If you say so." Jade looked over the paper. "Hey," he yelled, "Yuge! Yu-uge! Requestin' permission to go somewhere-" 

*** 

"Hello, Turtle Game Shop, how can I help you?"   
"Yugi? This is Mai."   
"Yes?"   
"I was wondering… Job DelaSangre's living with you?"   
"I'm sorry, he's not here right now. He's taking Hikari on a date."   
"…"   
"Mai? Are you there?"   
"Oh, forget it! Just forget it!" 

*** 

"Hello?"   
"Hey, Dan."   
"Black Jade?"   
"Yeah, that would be me. Ya know that poetry stuff?"   
"Yes…"   
"Do ya know how to write it?" 

*** 

"Well, that was an interesting conversation. Should I visit again sometime?"   
Cassiel nodded. "If it's all right with Aaron…"   
Aaron folded his arms. "Of course it's all right with me, you idiot." To Chihiro, "Come back or the next time Cassiel has nightmares I'll use the Duplicating Sleep on you."   
"I understand. Good night." 

*** 

_ But enough about that…_   
_ Chihiro's brothers- there were three of them. I guess I should tell about them, first. Save the best for last._   
_ Jewel came between Haku and Sapphire. His name and Sapphire's were picked by their father since their mother got to name the twins. At least that was what Sapphire told me. But then again he named Chihiro too. He named her Tiamat after someone he traced the Snow name back to; but it went back so long (the first Tiamat lived so long ago you see) I never could remember exactly how they were related. It doesn't matter. Everyone calls her Chihiro._   
_ But I'll talk about Jewel before I talk about Chihiro. I think he deserves some kind of significance, after all. I'd better get this out of the way first: Our Master went and stole Jewel's card from Jewel's Master. Then he ripped it up…_

*** 

Ryuunosuke's fingers stopped and he gaped at what he had just typed.   
It was a taboo subject. Oh, nobody had forbidden it outright, but it was that way. It just was and no use arguing. Not even Chihiro and her brothers- especially not Chihiro and her brothers- mentioned it, made even the vaguest reference. They had come to the unspoken collective understanding that it was better to pretend Jewel Snow had never existed.   
He pressed the Delete key.   
Nothing happened.   
"I happen to like what you just did," said Jane, "so I'm putting it in read-only mode. Just in case you get second thoughts."   
Ryuunosuke sighed and continued to type, one letter at a time. 

*** _ Then he ripped it up… we never heard from Jewel again. Haku tried to say it was for the best, said Master only did it so Jewel would never have to fight them. But really even Haku knew Master did it so Jewel would never be_ able _to fight him. So we just didn't talk about it. I hardly remember what he was like any more._   
_ Sapphire's the youngest. I think he's about as old as Master's brother, not counting all the time we didn't age a second because we were shut up. But he's already grown up by dragon standards. He's tall as Chihiro and Haku, anyway. I saw him the time Master sent out Obelisk. But he's afraid. He didn't use to be. You see after Jewel's card was ripped he was scared. He said if Master did it to Jewel what would stop him from doing it to us? Of course by us he meant him and the twins. Not me. There's more than four cards just like mine around being used by different Masters. They're not the exact same as me but the Masters consider them the same._   
_ Then later on- when that Thing took Master's deck, he wasn't afraid then, he was just angry because he was made to attack and Chihiro managed to not do it. But after Master dueled Pegasus he got really afraid._   
_ It was all because of some card Pegasus used called Toonworld. I don't know what it does. Sapphire and Chihiro wouldn't tell me. But it must have done something awful._

*** 

"Joey?"   
Joey looked up. "Yeah, what is it, Sandy?"   
Sandy held out an envelope. "Someone put it in the mail thing. I was going to go out and see who it was but, see, I had to go keep Ken from making Geoffrey completely deranged so when I got back…"   
Joey looked it over. At first he suspected it was from Ryou, but then he realized that the writing wasn't the cursive (which in itself was a work of art) adorning the lines of the paper on which Ryou Bakura inscribed the notes he sometimes lent to Joey. It was a bit like when Joey attempted elegance with his own scrawl- it was superficially similar to Ryou's, but when you looked close the reality was obvious.   
He got it open, nearly shredding it in the process. Inside was a card- not a Duel Monsters card, the special-occasions kind. Not the kind you got in stores, but paper folded in quarters (like he had done valentines in second-third grade, decorating them with thick marker and once he had gotten his mom to attach little things of candy to each of them).   
On the front, drawn in the kind of pens that came in tremendous sets and only art freaks ever used them all, was an okay picture of Flame Swordsman (AKA Brendan), sword held before him. Joey opened it up, a hypothesis regarding the sender already in his mind.   
The writing started out the same as on the envelope, but the author apparently gave up and printed like Joey had always done before the teachers insisted they write cursive. 

*** 

_ The heart of my card_   
_ Was on fire. It was that way_   
_ Ever since you kissed it._

_ I called and got Brendan; he told me how to do this one because I wasn't quite sure how to write this kind of stuff and Kari didn't know either. Kari doesn't like this kind of stuff, said it was more Elaine's thing. I didn't know how to talk to Elaine and Mikey won't talk to me. I think this one's called a hiku (sp?) but I could be wrong._   
_ Love ya forever,_   
_ Black Jade_

*** 

Joey groaned and let the card fall to the floor. Geoffrey quickly retrieved it and pressed it back into Joey's hand. "Why does everythin' blow up in my face?"   
"Time Wizard didn't blow up when you dueled Dar's Master," said Geoffrey, "don't you remember?"   
"Yeah, and look what that got me!" Joey threw out an arm. "I never considered he might look at me like that!"   
"Well," said Sandy, "if Time Wizard had blown up you would've been off the island for sure, considering you bet both your chips on that one. And anyway you shouldn't kiss people unless you really mean it."   
"Okay, okay, okay! I get it already!" Joey flung his school things around the room (to be hastily picked up the following morning) and headed for his bedroom. He flopped out on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "But come to think of it…" He groaned and whacked himself on the forehead. "What is the matter with me?"   
Joey had never liked to-do lists. They implied bad memory/a Kaiba mentality. But now he started one, with a random scrap of paper left over from ripping up a mediocre returned homework. One side was still blank, and he wrote on that side, printing: _Tell Black Jade not to hug me like that anymore so I don't get bawled out for having PDAs._

*** 

Seto Kaiba looked over the file directories. He felt a little guilty for not telling them about this, but then again, perhaps it was kinder to let them think the security made any difference, let them think he trusted them just because he held their cards. Seto's status (the "God Status" he had named it) had most all the abilities he would ever want- creating files, deleting files, modifying files, accessing files, changing passwords. Not to mention looking up passwords and overriding Jane's voice analysis technology.   
Haku had created a crude program to select random numbers and names, for what purpose Seto had no idea. The names entered included "Gabriel", "Jewel", and "Michael Gaia"; from this last Seto could guess that they were other Duel Monsters. The access records for the original chess program showed he had accessed it repeatedly. Seto called up the win/loss records and nodded before moving on to Chihiro's files.   
She had created none- she was smarter, more cautious than he had given her credit for, he had to admit. She at least did not blindly trust. Just what he would expect from a Blue Eyes White Dragon. Especially one who had gone unaccounted for until several hours after he returned from school, and then deftly avoided all his questions.   
Seto checked her access records. They were completely blank, obviously tampered with. He frowned and ran a restore program on high power. Only a few garbled letters and one word materialized scattered around the screen. That word was "Dark."   
Cautious was one thing, but this was going too far for his liking. He growled, resolving to confront her about it later.   
Seto was about to log off and shut off Jane, but he noticed another directory. Another user. Ryuunosuke. It was a moment before he placed the name. Seto struck a few keys and the directory opened, revealing one file. His fingers danced as he began to access that file.   
A window popped up. "Excuse me," said Jane. "Secondary password, please?"   
If Seto Kaiba's personality had been at all different he would have fallen out of the chair from sheer surprise. "What do you mean, secondary password?"   
"Look, he has written some stuff that is definitely not meant for the public. Or the private, for that matter. But I'll give you a shot. Secondary password, please?"   
After a minute of contemplation Seto made a wild guess. "… flute?"   
"Sorry, that's not the password. Thank you and good night."   
When Seto came back to his senses he had grabbed the monitor and was staring at the black screen. 

*** 

Ryuunosuke hurriedly retreated to the room designated as his own. He removed his armor, then slid under the blanket and pulled it up over his head. He remained like that for some time, waiting for what he was positive was sure to come, and then he was asleep. 

*** 

Jade burst in through the door of the Game Shop and spent the rest of the night seated on the couch, next to Ailill who was learning how to spell the plural of potato, dreaming. 

*** 

In Lantern City, on Clarion Street, in an apartment building, in the elevator Dar DelaSangre pressed the button marked 21.   
_ Well, was that a step up from smashing bugs?_   
_ I can't believe you are such a pacifist. You actually did that for them, didn't you? Not just to accommodate me, you did it for those little freaks?_   
_ Says the knight whose body got taken over by a dragon. Compared to that, off-color hair isn't so strange._   
_ Why you- worthless usurping idiot! You are no part of me! You never were part of me!_   
_ Of course not. I'm me. And you'd better get used to it._   
Dar knocked on the door and prepared to face the knight.   



	9. Master of Blue Eyes White Dragons

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you for those who reviewed Chapter Eight and please review this one, too! Remember, actions speak louder than words I can't hear! 

WARNINGS: _Ways to Drive an Esper Psycho _is rated PG13 for non-explicit sexual content and language. Plus some really dumb stuff. 

_"But when will you learn that the same loyalty is _not _returned by the Blue Eyes?"_   
_-Maximilian Pegasus_

Nine: Master of Blue Eyes White Dragons   
November 5, 2003 "You slept well last night." Cassiel didn't respond, only folded his hands, stared at the food before him and waited for Aaron to continue. "Did your newfound serenity have anything to do with the lady dragon, by any chance? The one you spoke to for several hours yesterday?"   
It was just the right spot. "You know perfectly well it did."   
Aaron folded his arms and smiled at his victory. "Ah. I see. It got lonely, didn't it?"   
"Shut up."   
"If you broke me into a thousand pieces and threw those pieces to the wind, little brother, I would not shut up. If you locked me in a chamber with a rampant Tormentor, I would not shut up. If you took my soul and-"   
"That's enough!"   
Cassiel's reaction was indeed enough; Aaron was silent for a full minute. "Tell me again, why are we doing this?"   
Cassiel didn't have an answer to that one.   
"Really, why are we doing this? Why don't we just go, who cares about him?" 

*** 

_ "He commanded the Tormentor to attack. And that was it."_   
_ "That must have been awful. But if he did such a thing to you… why didn't you leave?" He regretted the question the moment he asked it- he wasn't a person who had the right to ask._   
_ Chihiro obviously knew this as well. She lifted an eyebrow. "I'll answer that after you answer me this. When he did that to you, defiled your card just to win, made sure no honest Master could ever command you- even worse than what Master did to Jewel… why didn't _you _leave?"_

*** 

"Cassiel? I know you're in there. I didn't see you leave."   
Cassiel opened his eyes. "I'm all right."   
Aaron lifted an eyebrow, unknowingly echoing Chihiro. But Aaron was his brother; a whole different spectrum of emotion came to mind when Cassiel thought of Chihiro. "So why don't we, then?"   
"Well… I thought you won't go because I won't go."   
"You arrogant idiot, do you think the gods kneel at your command?" Aaron sighed. "But you're right about that. About my not going, I mean. If I go when you don't, it looks stupid, it feels stupid. You have more reason to go than I have got.   
"But what about you? Why don't you go so I can follow? Do you still think you owe something to him?" Aaron shook his head. "Anything there was, you paid it back a long time ago. He's the one who owes you."   
"What could I have done to pay him back for anything?"   
"Well… it works like this." Aaron held up his hands, one finger poking upright on each one. "Say, unlikely as that may be, you owed him something." A second finger on his left hand went up. "So you owe him that one thing. Then he did That to you-" The left hand became a fist. "That canceled out and then some. Now do you understand?"   
"Yes," said Cassiel. He noted that he couldn't remember a time after Before when he had spoken with Aaron this way, as in discussions on magical theories. "I understand that's the way it's supposed to work. But it doesn't cancel right."   
"It cancels right. It just doesn't look like it cancels right because whatever he did to you it worked at least halfway. I know you know it cancels right. Don't you know?" A reluctant nod from Cassiel. "But you don't want it to cancel right, because he made you think you'll always owe him something. And what do you owe him?"   
"… I don't know."   
"And I don't think," said Aaron, "you ever knew. Because it never was, therefore you wouldn't know." He sighed again, smiled and leaned back, putting his hands behind his head, their demonstration complete. "I think they have a new word for what I just did. I'll have to figure out what it is later." 

*** 

"Morning, Yugi!"   
Yugi nodded in reply. "Good morning, Téa!" Ailill had been standing next to him- on catching sight of Téa he made a disgusted face and quickly retreated into the Game Shop.   
Téa stared at the closed door and blushed. "So, who's your new friend?"   
"Him? Oh, that's Ailill. He's staying at my house."   
"What happened to his?"   
"Um… it got infested by killer bees."   
"Killer bees?"   
"Yeah. Or ants. Or was it termites?" Yugi laughed nervously. "Or maybe it was gypsy moth caterpillars?"   
"Yeah right. Next…" Téa laughed. "… next you'll be saying his house got infested by Parasite Paracides!"   
Ailill swung open the door and poked out his head. "Actually," he yelled, "it was infested by Shining Friendships!" With that he continued his retreat.   
Téa blinked and continued. "And I don't think I've ever seen him at school…"   
"Actually," said Yugi, "he's homeschooled."   
Téa's eyes became large and sparkly. "Well, if all homeschooled kids look like that… wait a minute! He looks just like-"   
Yugi decided to take a gamble that she was referring to Celtic Guardian and not, say, Pegasus or the garbage man. "That's because he is."   
"Really?" Yugi nodded. "Well, I guess I can tell you-" Téa leaned close. "-Shining Friendship is living in my house!" 

*** 

Dar had gone out early that morning and bought more fast food, Esper knew; the still-warm bags were on the counter when he woke up. Dar never claimed credit for it, but who else could have done such a thing? Who else would have?   
His brothers had eagerly torn into the bags, being sure to save some for Esper himself. Esper considered insisting that they have it all themselves, but his stomach mutinied.   
The mail had come, and with it an envelope containing a half-sheet of paper and some more money, in cash. Their father had been more or less on time this month. Esper counted the money and nodded. Precisely one hundred dollars. The all-time high was a hundred and fifty. The previous month, of course, he hadn't sent even one dollar.   
The bathroom door opened and Dar stepped out, wearing the same jacket. He kept on walking right out the door, without bothering with a goodbye. Esper noted this (as long as there were no reports of bizarre murders, he had resolved to tolerate it) and then looked at the paper. 

*** 

_ Hey, Zacky. Might be coming by for Christmas. Who knows, might even stay. Don't know if I'm quite ready yet._   


*** 

It wasn't signed-they never were. But he knew. "Great, Dad," he muttered. "You're the one who smashes things and walks away and then comes back with a new thing more than a year later and think that's all that you need to do." 

*** 

Haku sensed the difference the moment he entered the room.   
He was seated at the table once again; Seto Kaiba seemed the same as he had always remembered, the Master he had obeyed without question. But he noticed the way he looked at him; it was the in same way he spoke to, say, Yugi Motou.   
But then again, he had looked at him that way before, on the day of the Tormentor incident.   
"We need to discuss something."   
Ryuunosuke looked up from the plate (nearly untouched) and first at their Master, then at Haku, with wide anxious eyes. Haku had an urge to go over and tell him it would turn out fine just like always, but that would be a lie to tell him everything would be all right, and besides he just couldn't. He settled for a nod that could be interpreted in several ways, and Ryuunosuke smiled weakly in response before returning to the plate.   
Seto Kaiba interpreted it quite a different way. "Come." 

*** 

"Yo, Joey."   
"Hey, Tristan."   
They began walking toward their first-period class together. "So. How's Black doing?"   
"Fine, I guess." Joey shrugged. "You'll have ta ask Yuge for details."   
"So. Did ya do it yet?"   
Joey blushed. "No!"   
Tristan grinned. "Sorry, I thought with the PDA and all… Joey, lighten up, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Hey, if I were that way I'd probably think he was cute, too. Leave it to you to pick just the right card to kiss."   
"Shut up, Tristan."   
"You did kiss him! I saw you do it!"   
"I said SHUT UP!" 

*** 

Geoffrey Giltia took the phone and promptly nearly had his eardrums shattered by his cousin's shout. "GEOFFREY? ARE YOU THERE?"   
"Oh, hello, Michael. And you don't need to shout so loud when you use it, you know."   
"I apologize. Geoffrey… is it true you have been doing… that with Serpent Night Dragon?"   
"… I'm going to kill Ken."   
"You intend to do what?"   
"First he copycats Dar wearing Helen's clothes- by accident, he claims- and now he says I-"   
"You mean you didn't know he was saying that?"   
"If you recall, he was whispering."   
"Oh, yes, he was. I'm sorry I ever thought you would ever do that."   
"Don't worry, Michael, I'm following your example. Saving up for the big day, you know."   
"… I didn't mean that! What I meant was-"   
"Oh, yes, that. I suppose now wouldn't be the best time to tell you…"   
"Don't tell me you did do it with Serpent Night Dragon!"   
"I did not have any erotic contact whatsoever with Serpent Night Dragon!" Geoffrey yelled, coloring. Then, holding one hand over the phone, "Shut it, Ken, or I swear I'll be sure to cast a spell on vinegar and baking soda when you're in the vicinity!" Back to the phone, "Sorry about that, Michael."   
"What was it?"   
"It involves Joey and Jade, for starters."   
"… I believe I would rather not know." 

*** 

Seto Kaiba chose the room containing Jane as the site for the discussion. While looking past mirror-image blue eyes at Jane's screen, Haku noted that a sound-recorder program had activated, but he managed to keep a poker face that would give his own Master a run for his money. "What is the topic of discussion, Master?"   
"… are you happy here?"   
Haku began to count things off on his human-form fingers. "The meals and rooms with which you provided us are excellent. The weather is fair. We have not been humiliated, physically harmed, or subjected to other detrimental influences. And you have not wished for Obelisk the Tormentor. Logically speaking, yes, I am happy." 

*** 

"Good." Seto began to walk back and forth, maintaining eye contact. "The topic of discussion is the loyalty of the other monsters. Particularly that of Lord of Dragons and your sister."   
"I apologize, Master, but with all due respect, if you wished to test their loyalty, then perhaps you should speak to them instead of myself?"   
Seto stopped his pacing and instead began walking in Haku's direction, angry fire starting to catch in the debris of his mind. Haku did not start walking backward in response, simply stood his ground, and that somehow made Seto even angrier.   
He continued to walk until they were face to face, until he was looking directly into blue eyes which mirrored his own in their darkest part. "Have they ever made negative remarks concerning myself? Have they ever questioned my authority? Have they ever done anything against me?"   
"Master, correct me if I'm wrong," said Haku, acid dripping from every syllable, "but according to my knowledge, you were the one who made the decision to set us against you that time. You can hardly fault my older sister and Ryuunosuke for that incident."   
"Don't tell me what to do!" Seto snarled. He knew he was losing his advantageous cool; that knowledge made him lose even more of it. "You don't know anything! You don't like what I do? Then tell me a better way!"   
Silence. Haku looked away; the way he did it, it was not a coward's gesture. It was like the Judeo-Christian God passing judgment on a sinner and finding him unworthy of heaven. "Chihiro told me what that Pegasus freak disguised as a being worthy of being called Master said before he played the Jar on her. Surely you didn't believe him, Master."   
_ But when will you learn that the same loyalty is _not_ returned by the Blue Eyes?_   
"Now it seems I have reason to."   
"Don't stand there," said Haku, "with Obelisk the Tormentor in your hand just waiting to be wished out, and accuse me of being disloyal. I promised my loyalty, not that I would bend over backwards and break myself in two just to satisfy a suspicious mind."   
Seto looked down at his right hand, which had been fishing through his deck with him being only slightly aware of it. Indeed, he was holding Obelisk.   
"So go on," said Haku, "be a Master and make the wish." 

*** 

Malik Ishtar frowned as the elevator reached the twenty-first floor and the doors slid open.   
He'd been meaning to go wipe any evidence of the Rare Hunters from Arkana's apartment for ever so long, but somehow he kept procrastinating. There was so much to do- Rare Hunters to be sent out (not all of them to Domino-he had interests elsewhere as well). Hospital bills to have payment arranged for from when he had lost his concentration and one of the Hunters he sent after Yugi Motou collapsed and hit his head (Malik had considered discarding that one, but he still had the God Card). Newly acquired cards to sort through and deck (he had tried having them do it themselves, but they sometimes-no, frequently- made mistakes, such as considering Change of Heart a common card). On top of that, the mundane affairs of electric bills and grocery shopping. After all, he couldn't possibly use the Millennium Rod on every person working in the electric company and still have some energy left over for the Hunters, now could he?   
Well, he thought as he put his hand on the doorknob, better late than never.   
He had never considered that the door would be locked. He let loose a string of curses (he was somewhat stunned by how many he knew- he even had stories to go with the more exotic ones), then remembered the spare key.   
A good guardian always has a spare key.   
He grinned and began to fish around in his pockets. 

*** 

_ He knew it was called blood. Humans' first words tended to be things like "Mother" and "Father." His first word was blood._   
_ He looked down and there was blood on human hands, on human clothes several sizes too large. He knew this was not his blood. It belonged to the body lying before him; blood still pooled around it._   
_ He was on his knees, the hands on the hilt of a sword and just starting to tug it out from the sheath still attached to the body. Another sword lay nearby, stained with blood not yet dry, with gems of the same color glittering in the hilt. At last it slid out, and then he stood (the sword was the same length as more of his height than he thought should be accurate) and realized he had no idea what he had intended to do with it._   
_ Movement teased in the corner of his eye. He whirled and saw what was quickly labeled in his mind as "child," ten or eleven. Red hair and green eyes._   
_ "Welcome. You are," said the child, "one of us, one of the blood."_   
_ One of the blood?" The voice was higher than he thought it should be; it sounded much like that of the child._   
_ "You are born from all the bits of goodness left in a human unworthy of living. I am pleased to meet you. I am certain my family, the DelaSangre family, will accept you." The child walked toward him. "My name is Job. And you are Dar."_   
_ "Dar?"_   
_ "You must have a name." Job looked at the sword. "It means 'pearl' in the same words my name came from. At least I think it does."_   
_ "Pearl?"_   
_ "Let's get these things back home and I'll explain. And I think there's a few pearls in the treasure room. Do you want to see them?"_

*** 

_ And did anyone take any notice of me during all this? Did any of those dragons care about the rightful occupant of this body? No!_   
_ Shut up, _Dar thought as he walked over to a boat to inquire about rides. _Just shut up._

*** 

Aaron spun around the moment the door unlocked, grabbing his staff and holding it at the ready. 

*** 

Malik blinked; that was his only action for several seconds. His voice appeared to have turned traitor and fled.   
If he wasn't mistaken there was someone who definitely wasn't Arkana pointing a staff that looked remarkably like that of a Dark Magician right at him. This person, in fact, reminded Malik of Arkana's Dark Magician. The same wild silver hair, the same blue eyes, and the same skin of around the same shade as his and his sister's, the shade everywhere in Egypt but near nowhere here.   
The difference was, in the hologram Arkana's Dark Magician had always been smirking. If this expression counted as smiling the world might as well be a cube and a Magician of Faith have the strength of a God Card.   
Not to mention that to the best of Malik's knowledge, no Dark Magician had ever appeared wearing a red sweatshirt and khaki drawstring-ankled pants.   
Someone screamed from the bedroom. It was a familiar scream.   
Malik found where his voice hid and forced it back in its proper place. "Who are you?"   
The staff was now pointing at him even more directly. "My name is Aaron. I think a better question would be who are you?"   
A desperate voice from the bedroom rose above the extended scream (Doesn't he have to breathe? Malik thought); this one was completely unfamiliar. "Master, please, stop it…"   
Aaron whirled, letting out several strings of curses which left Malik once again reduced to blinking, and ran for the bedroom. "You stop whatever you're doing to Cassiel this time or else I'll-"   
Malik blinked again, then began to follow. 

*** 

"Hello, you are speaking to Kaiba Corporation Artificial Intelligence Module Alpha-Jane-0001. Do you have an appointment?"   
Dar shook his head, thinking of the people he had left unconscious on the boat when they had gotten too insistent that he come with them, to their so-called Master Merrick. Then he realized what he was speaking to. "No. I would like to speak to the Battle City Tournament Commissioner, please."   
"… I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba is currently unavailable. Would you like to leave a message?"   
"…Actually, could I get an appointment?"   
"I suppose. Please state your name."   
"Dar DelaSangre."   
"Please state the purpose of your visit."   
"I want to see if someone could get re-qualified for Battle City."   
"I'm sorry, we don't issue locator cards."   
"No, I mean his opponent cheated, and I would like to get him back in the tournament if it's at all possible. You see, in all fairness he should still be in there. The tournament, I mean."   
"Ah, I see. Could you please state the name of the duelist whom you represent?"   
"Rex Raptor."   
"All right then. What time would be convenient for you?"   
"Just about any time, I guess…" 

*** 

"Cassiel, you shouldn't do that. You gave me a scare."   
"And you're actually admitting to it?"   
"The way you talked I thought he was-"   
"He wasn't! He wasn't starting to do That, either! Now, are you happy?"   
Right then they became aware of Malik's presence and both turned to face him.   
By Ra, he was getting sick of blinking. "How is it that you both- I mean-"   
"We're brothers," said Aaron. "If we didn't have a resemblance the integrity of our parents would be called into question. Now answer me!"   
"Um…" He ran through his mind for an appropriate pseudonym and grabbed the first one he came across, the one he usually used to sign things when he didn't make one of the Hunters do it. "Terrence Merrick."   
"No, it's not."   
Aaron turned to stare at his companion, who continued, voice shaking. "Actually, I think your given name is Malik and you lead the Rare Hunters. Correct?"   
Malik grabbed his Rod and tried to convince himself to use it. After all, his cover was truly blown beyond repair. But somehow he felt the Rod wouldn't be much help at all against these two.   
"Cassiel," said Aaron, "how could you know that?"   
"Don't you remember?" Cassiel's eyes seemed to go away. "When Master wanted to demonstrate. I saw him watching. You saw him, too, remember?"   
Malik put together this information and then shoved it into a corner of his mind when he saw the obvious conclusion. There was no way Arkana's Dark Magicians were really standing in front of him, not a hologram, not a semitransparent construct by the Millennium Ring. There was just no way.   
Just no way…   
He had acquired a cell phone in order to contact those he didn't feel like using the Rod on just yet, and before he had gone on his little mission he had grabbed it. Now it began to ring. Malik fumbled with the buttons until he located the proper one and pressed it, then lifting it to his ear as he had seen others do. "What?"   
"I apologize, sir."   
"First tell me what you're apologizing for, you idiot!"   
"The crew of Lady of Fate was attacked at the Domino City harbor."   
Lady of Fate- named in a moment of caprice, a semi-homage to his sister (though she hadn't much appreciated it). Indeed, it was one of the only properties not operated by Rod-controlled Hunters. "And you interrupted me to bring me this trivial piece of information?"   
"Sir, the perpetrator demonstrated unusual abilities."   
"Such as?"   
"Sir, the entire crew was rendered unconscious. Several of them were actually knocked off the boat into the water, and witnesses report the perpetrator made no physical contact with them."   
"Now that's more like it. Has there been any clue as to how the perpetrator got onto the boat?"   
"… Evidence points to the theory that the crew allowed the perpetrator on at the Lantern City harbor, possibly in exchange for a cash payment."   
Malik would have to seriously reevaluate his "employees" after he was done with his task at hand. "And did these witnesses report how he incapacitated them? Give me the details."   
Details were given. Malik groaned, first putting a hand over the phone so as not to betray any sign of weakness to the person on the other end.   
Apparently there _was_ a way. 

*** 

The same moment the bell rang Mokuba pressed keys on his mini-computer to establish a link with Jane. A two-dimensional rendering of a girl around Seto's age, wearing a sailor uniform and a wide grin, appeared on the downsized screen. The graphic appeared to speak; as it did a perfectly right-angled box materialized over the girl's head (No sound- the teachers wouldn't stand for that. And Seto abhorred little cartoon speech balloons) and text appeared in the box. "Hello, Mokuba. Someone's been asking after you."   
Mokuba's school portable didn't have all the capabilities of Jane's full technological array in the Kaiba mansion. He had to press keys to reply, instead of just opening his mouth. "Please display," he typed.   
"An three-thirty appointment has been arranged for you with a Mr. Dar DelaSangre. He claims a wrongful disqualification from Battle City on behalf of Rex Raptor and wishes to discuss it with the Tournament Commissioner. Also, and you have one message (A) from Chihiro Snow and one message (B) from Ryuunosuke. Would you like to view them?"   
"Please display A."   
More text appeared. 

*** 

_ Mokuba, Jane told me about your appointment. There's something you should know about Dar DelaSangre. He isn't human exactly. He's actually Rex Raptor's Serpent Night Dragon, and I'm sure you know what's on Serpent Night Dragon's card. If you make him angry, there's no telling what he could do. I doubt Master would be too pleased if his younger brother was harmed, so I'm giving you prior warning._

*** 

Mokuba blinked. _Serpent Night Dragon's real too? This just gets weirder and weirder… oh well. Cross that bridge when you come to it._   
_ I wonder what Lord of Dragons has got to say?_   
"Please display B," he typed. 

*** 

After the incident, Ryuunosuke had waited just beside the door until he was certain as he could ever be that Master and Haku wouldn't be reentering for a while, and then he had run in to discover Jane had made an audio recording of the entire event.   
Headphones were provided, and he made use of a set while reviewing the incident, just to make sure no stray sound would filter into the hall and call attention to himself. Then, with some help from Jane, he managed to send a message to Master's younger brother, containing the sound file.   
Ryuunosuke wasn't quite sure how Mokuba Kaiba would react to it, but it just wasn't right that it should be a secret how Master spoke to people when Mokuba wasn't there to hear. Jane agreed.   
Then, after Jane prompted him a few times, he returned to his other file and continued typing. 

*** 

_ Then there's Haku. He's Chihiro's twin brother. Chihiro's older than him, and usually he agrees, but sometimes when he gets angry or annoyed or something he doesn't call her onee-san, he calls her imouto-san. She doesn't like that._   
_ He's very… I don't know, devoted? After our Master tried out his new system (the one in between the arena and the Battle City disks), around the same time Sapphire started to change how he talked to Alexander Sang, Haku was trying to imitate Master. And that meant talking to Black Jade like he was even lower than me. Like he'd just stumbled into where we were while being an idiot and was never meant to duel at all. And Haku wasn't that way before._   
_ You could tell he didn't really mean it as much as Master did but he was trying and he was changing bit by bit so he started to mean it. I guess in a way maybe I should thank Pegasus for interrupting it, otherwise… who knows how much he might have ended up meaning it._   
_ Pegasus. In that duel Sapphire was summoned, but not by our Master. Chihiro ended up in a Jar. Haku was never summoned in that duel- before his card was drawn the Crush virus got loose and of course his numbers were above fifteen hundred. Damn that Pegasus, saying Saggi was the only one Master could play. My numbers are below fifteen hundred, too! But he didn't care about that. Because if Master had summoned me then Chihiro wouldn't have been stuck in the Jar anymore. It would have spoiled his fun._   
_ No, actually, I won't thank him._   



	10. With Justice for All

AUTHOR'S NOTES: New additions to the dramatis personae- Shadi, Ankhkare, and Senui (the latter are AKA Ankh and Scale). The latter two were also created by Indigo Tantarian (go read her stuff if you haven't already!), who has kindly given me permission to use them. I hope I haven't mangled their personalities too much.   
Actually, Millennium Slinky, the dragons having human forms wasn't my idea. It came from _The Dragon DelaSangre _by Alan Troop (and, as you can guess, that's where I got Dar and Job's surname). So it's not mine to give permission for. But I don't think the author of that book's running around suing people who use it. 

WARNINGS: I'm probably stretching the definition of PG-13 here. This story contains Millennium Item loans, same-sex relationships, swearing, implied sex, et cetera. 

DISCLAIMER: There's a very simple way to tell if I own Yu-Gi-Oh: Go outside and see if there are flying pigs. I do, however, own a dueling deck. If only there was someone to duel... 

_*blows whistle* "Violation!"_   
_-Mokuba _(and I meant nothing perverted by this quote. He was referring to a _rule _violation) 

Ten: With Justice for All Cassiel didn't know what to make of it.   
The intruder who was named Malik had departed after his conversation with an unknown person, vowing to return. Shortly afterward Aaron shoved their Master (now reduced to incoherent babbling) back into the bedroom, informing him in a tone that, as always, exuded extreme lack of patience, that he was in no condition to be running around.   
When this operation was completed, Aaron turned back to Cassiel. "Well?" he said. "Why don't we leave?"   
And this time Cassiel had no objections. 

*** 

"Rex! Hey, Rex!"   
As Rex opened his mouth to reply, Dar grabbed his arm. "Come on. We have to be at Kaiba Corp. at three-thirty."   
"What for?"   
"To get what's yours," said Dar. "That's what for."   
"You mean…"   
Dar nodded. "I hope you kept your duel disk." 

*** 

"Everyone," said Téa, "I'd like you to meet Angela."   
Of course Angela wasn't the little puffball with a halo that she was in the picture on the card.   
She had pale blond hair in twin braids with wide shiny ribbons, and big blue eyes that in proportion to the beatific face rivaled those of Yugi and Téa. She looked to be around seven or eight, and she didn't look at all real. She looked like a painting from a maybe-fictional time where most girls actually wore dresses like hers on a daily basis. It was white, or at least Joey thought it was; there was so much ruffles and lace and ribbon that it was hard to be sure. "Hello, friends of Téa. It is a pleasure to meet you."   
As Joey struggled to come up with a suitable response, Yugi took over. "It's nice to meet you, Angela."   
Joey grinned nervously and nodded. "Same here."   
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the guy who had been in the boys' bathroom that Monday- the guy who, he had been informed, was Dar DelaSangre, Rex Raptor's (now Esper Roba's) Serpent Night Dragon. That had been followed up by some decidedly crude transformations by Ken, culminating in Geoffrey pursuing Ken around the house, demanding he take it back and that they weren't like that. In the interests of the structure of the Wheeler house, not to mention his own sanity, Joey had finally wished Ken back into the card.   
Dar was speaking to Rex about something (Joey couldn't hear for the noise), and all of a sudden Rex's eyes widened and they both began running for somewhere.   
Joey was diverted from his observation by Tristan waving a hand in front of his face. "Hello, Earth to Joey, are you there? Or are you dreaming about Jay again?"   
Joey blushed but raised no objection. 

*** 

Mokuba began to prepare immediately after getting home, after telling Chihiro that yes, he had gotten her message. He cleaned up the room Seto had designated as the Tournament Commissioner's office, straightening the paperwork scattered across the desk into neat piles so it at least looked like he had total control of things.   
Then, at three-twenty, he sat at the desk (he had made certain that the chair had wheels, in case he got bored) and started on his math homework while waiting for Serpent Night Dragon's appearance. He didn't wait long.   
"Mokuba," said Jane, "Mr. DelaSangre and Mr. Raptor have arrived. Shall I open the doors?"   
"Yes, please."   
The doors slid open and two people entered before they just as quickly slid shut. Jane was extremely efficient.   
Rex Raptor- Mokuba recognized him from the Domino Regionals. He also vaguely remembered seeing him standing next to Joey Wheeler during the latter's duel with Esper Roba. He had left the pertinent Battle City files open on the computer; the one on top delineated Rex's first and last tournament battle. Mokuba noted, with some amusement, that a math textbook had been half-jammed into his bag. Then again, he thought as he swept his math off the desk, he was equally guilty.   
But Dar DelaSangre he could never recall having seen anywhere before. Maybe that was to be expected- Chihiro had warned him, after all. Unlike Rex, he looked directly at Mokuba, and that combined with his eye color made Mokuba feel distinctly unnerved.   
He decided to get right down to business. "I'm the Battle City Tournament Commissioner. Please take a seat." Much to Mokuba's relief, there was no lifting of eyebrows or condescending tone. They both sat down; Mokuba scooted the chair away from the computer so he was looking straight at them. "You claim there has been a wrongful disqualification?"   
Dar looked like he would like to put it in stronger terms, but he nodded.   
"I'm very sorry, but I don't have the authority to issue locator cards."   
"You could take them back, though," said Dar, "if the current owner cheated to get them. Couldn't you?"   
Mokuba blinked. "Someone cheated? Do you have proof?"   
"He was wearing a headset." Those eyes, to be honest, were freaking Mokuba out. He kept on thinking about how good guys on TV never had red eyes. "And I doubt he was listening to music. He constantly stated the cards in Rex's hand, and the ones he had just played. The face-down ones. Does that sound like cheating to you? It does to me."   
Mokuba nodded- he had to. It did, indeed, sound like cheating. "Do you have evidence?"   
"Excuse me- Mokuba?" Mokuba spun the chair around. "I'm sorry about interrupting," said Sapphire, "but according to onee-sama, Dar is really Serpent Night Dragon, and he was looking straight at the opponent since there's not much else to do, so of course he'd see that kind of thing."   
"Oh, it's okay, Sapphire," said Mokuba. He spun back. "Can you provide me with the name of the alleged cheater?"   
"Esper Roba," said Rex. "At least that's what he called himself."   
_ Great. Just great. Whatever it takes, don't tell these two what you told the Roba brothers. I know they'll take it the wrong way._   
"Well, this will take time to sort out. You see, Esper Roba's out of the tournament, too. He lost his only rare card."   
They weren't falling for it. "I know that," said Rex. "But does that mean he gets away with it?"   
"Mokuba," said Sapphire, "With all due respect, I think you should go after that guy, who cares if he's in Battle City anymore. Wouldn't you want to go after Pegasus? He wasn't exactly the fairest player, either. And you're willing to let this Roba off scot-free?"   
_ And now I'm between a dragon and a hard place._   
"That's different, Sapphire," said Mokuba. "Esper Roba never tried to take over Seto's company."   
"Even if Pegasus hadn't tried that," said Sapphire, "cheating is still cheating. If Pegasus was in Battle City-"   
"Seto would never give him a duel disk."   
"- I'm speaking hypothetically, all right? If Pegasus was in Battle City, and you saw him spying on someone's cards, you'd throw him out, wouldn't you? If anyone else was spying on someone's cards, they'd be disqualified, right? And you'd make sure the locator cards got back to whoever he cheated them from, right?"   
"… yes."   
"So how is this any different?"   
"It's not like that!"   
Open mouth. Insert foot. 

*** 

Esper had just about had it with Serpent Night Dragon. Running in and out all the time, being a smart aleck and simultaneously buying things for Esper's brothers, like they were homeless or something… He nearly took the card and ripped it in two. Only, he had no idea how this worked. The destruction of the card might, heaven forbid, actually make Serpent Night Dragon stuck in this dimension forever. He couldn't risk such a thing.   
At least that was what he told himself.   
He dashed off his homework and took off for his job at a pace that would have earned him an easy A in PE. 

*** 

"Hikari?"   
Hikari pushed herself up and stretched. "Mm?"   
Job began to fidget with the collar again. "I was just wondering… about Bakenrenef."   
"Him? Well, for one thing he's currently sharing a body. Tell you what, if you ever come up with proof of infidelity, I'll let you stone me." Hikari grinned. "More faithful than the Lady herself, hm?" She tipped her head to one side and waited for a familiar outraged shout from a certain knight, but apparently he had other things to do. "Although I can't compare to her in terms of…"   
"Don't say it," said Job. "What good is that stuff, anyway? Our species must propagate otherwise it will die out, therefore we have the right to mess around."   
Hikari laughed. "I think someone's been reading Yugi's schoolbooks. Bakenrenef said Elaine's been looking about for someplace where she can do the thing with Michael that allows them to _propagate_ with abandon."   
"It's called a church. Possibly a cathedral."   
She groaned. "You don't have to rub it in."   
"Sorry."   
"So, how long has it been? Two-three thousand years? I think we'd better get on with it if we ever want to _propagate_, don't you think so?"   
Job nodded. "But I get to be on top." 

*** 

"Um… I mean…"   
Rex Raptor spoke. His voice was low like a match struck in a dark room and held to a pile of paper, preparing to burst into angry flames. "You mean… you knew he was cheating? And you didn't do anything about it? You just sat there and watched him walk off with my cards?"   
"Look, it's not like that, I mean, I, well…"   
"Dar," said Rex, "Thanks, but I don't think I want to re-enter. I'll probably just get cheated out all over again."   
"Believe me," Mokuba yelled, "if I'd been informed of this incident earlier I would not have let him off!"   
Dar crossed his arms. "And now you're blaming us?"   
"I am not!" Mokuba knew only too well how he was sounding. He sighed and leaned back. "It's like this…"   
By the time he had said "this" the doors had slid shut.   
"Mokuba," said Sapphire, "if I've got the words right, you're in a fix, aren't you?"   
"Yep," said Mokuba. "I'm in a fix." 

*** 

Cassiel had expected something horrible to happen when he touched the card, but the only thing he felt was a slight shock and then nothing.   
They performed the transportation spell in the room with the tiles, standing in the center of it and Aaron putting one hands palm-down on top of one of Cassiel's hands which was held out palm-up. They used their spare hands to grab their staffs, and Aaron shouted words that Cassiel had forgotten if he had ever known them (then again, Cassiel preferred the silent brand of magic) and then Cassiel shut his eyes and left.   
It happened much quicker than Cassiel had been able to do on his own. Aaron located it and the spell was completed in a matter of moments.   
Cassiel expected Aaron to be the one who gave them the news, but instead Aaron gave him a shove toward the door. Cassiel pushed it open and said, "Gabriel? Miriam? We have a favor to ask." 

*** 

_ Look at all that chocolate! The expensive kind, too!_   
Shadi automatically turned to look in the store window. _You know, Scale, you're not helping at all._   
_ And when did I say I wanted to help, hippopotamus-mouth?_   
_ Scale, please, at least try to be polite!_   
_ Oh, shut up, you're a hippopotamus-mouth too._   
Shadi's eyes moved to the boat in the harbor. Lady of Fate. Registered to one Terrence Merrick of Lantern City. He had paid a visit to Isis Ishtar, who supplied him with a photocopy of the driver's license of "Terrence Merrick" ("I was informed you would need it," she told him).   
Of course, Malik Ishtar of Egypt had been immediately identified.   
Law enforcement surrounded the boat, waving away the curious. A television news reporter (several, in fact) stood nearby, yelling into microphones. The law enforcement was apparently asking them to leave; they continued on regardless concerning the Abnormal Incident that had occurred aboard the boat.   
Talk about the cosmic balance being upset- no, upset wasn't the right word, it implied a single weight giving the slightest favor to one side. It was more to the effect of a cosmic hand grabbing a cosmic sledgehammer and smashing the cosmic balance beyond recognition.   
Isis had also provided him with news reports on this and another Abnormal Incident. Shadi compared them and found undeniable similarities. There were no known witnesses to the first occurrence (the children found outside the school weren't talking) and the alleged perpetrator of the second occurrence had been reported to not make any physical contact whatsoever with the crew of Lady of Fate. Too, there had been no medical explanation for the unconscious state of either the children or the crew.   
And in the second incident, witnesses had reported that the perpetrator had dark hair and an unusual eye color- either red or brown.   
Unless Shadi was very, very mistaken (in which case Scale would never hear the end of it), the monsters of the Shadow Games were materializing in Domino City, and even a few in its northern neighbor Lantern. If that wasn't upsetting the cosmic balance, nothing was.   
He had spent a time going through the Duel Monsters with red eyes. There were many, and in the end he had despaired of any clues from that avenue.   
So now he was paying a visit to the one who hopefully had regained his memories by now.   
A telephone directory (though it contained addresses as well) had revealed to him the location of Yugi Motou's residence. There was even a map. But the map didn't look much like how the streets really were; it took longer than he had expected to find the Turtle Game Shop.   
He pushed open the door and an impulse struck him to turn and bolt, run back to Egypt screaming all the way. Shadi had long ago learned to disregard impulses as vestiges of a childish mindset, but this time he was extremely tempted.   
A hand reached up and brushed back dark purple hair. She bowed by putting her spinal cord at a slight angle with her legs, tilting her head downward, and then returning to her original position. It looked formal even from her position behind the cash register. "May I help you?"   
Shadi permitted Ankh to slide words into his mouth, as he himself was rendered temporarily mute. "I would like to see Yugi Motou. And may I ask your name?"   
"If you give me yours. Tani Koumori."   
"Shadi."   
Tani Koumori- or rather, Koumori Dragon- did not comment on his lack of a surname. Instead she turned and walked to another door that led out of the store, opened it, and yelled, "Yugi! Do you know anyone named Shadi?"   
"Shadi? Oh- I'll be right there!"   
Scale had decided to start grumbling. _In Egypt the monsters never addressed their masters by their given name! When they spoke, that is! Which was almost never, because they were too stupid to-_   
_ This isn't Egypt, _Shadi reminded him. _Besides, we are speaking of Pharaoh Yami. He took the advice of a Duel Monster, you know; it stands to reason he would allow them to be somewhat informal when addressing him._   
Shadi had barely completed his thought when Scale began to call out. _I knew I wasn't really for you, you flea-bitten monkey! Get a move on, who cares about the stupid Pharaoh?_   
He had felt some kind of call as well; he contemplated it with some help from Ankh. _I believe- someone has a strong desire for justice. That is why you are attracted to him, Scale. Your Item is supposed to bring justice._   
Right then Yugi Motou himself started through the door, the Puzzle glowing as he did. By the time he had passed through the door proper Pharaoh Yami had taken over. "Shadi," he said. "What brings you here?"   
"I apologize for interrupting," said Shadi, "but there have been several indications that the balance is upset. One of them just took place. Will you excuse me for a moment?"   
"Oh," he added as he was halfway out the door, "When I return could you please inform me approximately how many Duel Monsters you believe have left the Shadow Realm? And explain why you have permitted them to stay?"   
"Yami sighed. "With some of them, I wonder myself." 

*** 

Shadi located this new candidate for the role of Scale's chosen a short distance from the Kaiba Corp. building. He was about the age of Yugi Motou, and he walked beside someone with dark hair and eyes that were not brown but definitely red.   
_ This boy had put the Duel Monster up to those attacks? If so I wonder why I never recognized him as Scale's chosen one before this._   
_ Yes! That's him! Right there! Go on, crab-eyes! Go on!_   
"Excuse me," said Shadi. "You seek justice, correct?"   
The boy blinked. "I guess you could say that. Who are you?"   
Shadi held out the Millennium Scales. "Take these. They will be a great aid to your quest, but they must be used wisely. And never, ever think that the Scales are yours to command as you wish, to remove all obstacles from life for you alone. Those who think that way are often found unworthy by the Scales themselves."   
_ Nice disclaimer. Now's the part where you hand the Item over and let me do the rest, you idiotic moronic stupid foolish… fool! Or I'll send you to Anubis!_   
Any further ranting by Scale was cut off when the boy reached out cautiously and took hold of the Item.   
_ Shadi- Scale's soul room has vanished!_   
_ I thought as much. Don't worry, Ankh. This boy is Scale's chosen now, even if it's temporary._   
_ That's what makes me worry._   
The Duel Monster shattered Shadi's mental conversation. "Are you okay?"   
"Dar, I'm fine. Just fine." Scale's new chosen looked straight at Shadi. "So what do I do with this?"   
Shadi allowed himself a slight smile as Ankh fed him information. "Its power will allow you to seek justice and find it when normal recourses have failed." The expression on the boy's face changed to absolute incredulity.   
_ Probably wondering how I managed to pinpoint exactly what he wanted, hm, Ankh?_   
_ Shadi… I hope Scale won't be with this boy for very long. It was good of you to warn him, but that won't stop Scale from taking control._   
_ Not to worry, Ankh. He merely wants the power of the Scales- he wants justice. That isn't so bad. He isn't a chosen per se; sooner or later he'll have to return the Item, and he can cast the Scales away whenever he likes. Though I'd rather he didn't unless in cases of emergency._   
_ Thank you, Shadi._   
The boy had apparently recaptured his voice. "What the-"   
"I will give my name," said Shadi, "if you give me yours."   
"Rex Raptor," said the boy. "So I guess I'm supposed to find out for myself how to use this thing?"   
He had to contend with another impulse, this one to identify himself as Terrence Merrick. "My name is Shadi. And you are right, you are to discover the power of the Millennium Scales for yourself. Perhaps your friend-" insert significant glance at the friend in question "-can help you discover it. I apologize, but I really must be going." 

*** 

"Greetings, Shadi," said Yami. "We were performing some… ahem… experiments."   
"And that was how they left the Shadow Realm?"   
"No," said Yami, "we were trying to figure out how to get them back, and we figured that out, but they didn't favor that idea. We've reached a conclusion of sorts."   
"What would that conclusion be?"   
"There has been some kind of disruption in the Shadow Realm." Yami fingered his Puzzle as he did so. "Now, apparently, whenever someone sincerely wishes for a Duel Monster to come to life… they do."   
Shadi shook his head, unconsciously denying what was right before his eyes. "Nothing good can come of this."   
_ Shadi, please, the Koumori Dragon was polite enough. And they're intelligent-_   
_ They are also dangerous. Remember that book I read?_ Shadi waited a moment for Ankh to look at his memories of the contents of that book. _Intelligence creates knowledge that their life is not all it could be, which creates resentment, which makes them dangerous._   
_ But books aren't always right! Like those histories you read, those were wrong! They're intelligent, they should realize that their life might not be all it could be, but it wouldn't be productive to use violence._   
Shadi waited a moment for Scale to throw in a sarcastic remark, but then remembered Scale had gone. _Thank you for that self-analysis, Ankh._   
"Excuse me," said Yami. "Have you finished your conversation yet? I admit, one of mine has been involved in several… incidents."   
"Which one?"   
"Curse of Dragon." Yami sighed. "I would wish most of them back to the Shadow Realm, especially her, but Yugi won't allow it."   
"With all due respect, they are that aggravating?"   
Yami sighed and turned to the Duel Monsters nearby, waving them away. They retreated, several with vaguely insulted or hurt expressions. Then Yami embarked on a remarkably controlled rant. "It is hard for Yugi to focus on his schoolwork due to the loud arguments that often occur between Curse of Dragon and Gaia the Fierce Knight on religious matters. Curse of Dragon and her paramour are often engaged in… activities. Celtic Guardian is extremely discourteous towards Téa. Summoned Skull spends much of his time cursing Maximilian Pegasus."   
Someone in the next room looked around the edge of the doorway. Shadi caught sight of wide blue eyes edged in dark strokes contrasting with skin like that of a typical person in Egypt.   
"Koumori Dragon- I suspect she aided Curse of Dragon in the second incident. Even Dark Magician-" Yami sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Two of his cousins recently sought asylum here. Normally I wouldn't object, but there is simply _no place to put them!"_

*** 

Once they were more-or-less secure in Rex's room with the door shut, Rex reached into his bag. "Dar, that guy said you could help me with this. Question one: How am I supposed to explain what a large set of gold scales is suddenly doing in my room?"   
"Tell them you got it from Kaiba?" Dar laughed; there wasn't much real humor behind it. "Actually, I'd say don't explain it." Dar proceeded to take the Scales and shove them under the bed. "What they know won't hurt them."   
"Good point." Rex took out his binder and set to work on his geometry. Dar perched on the foot of the bed, tilting the tiger's eye, observing the patterns it formed in the light, and ruminating.   
They remained like this for around five minutes, maybe even ten, before Rex spoke again. "Do you have any idea how to use this?"   
Dar frowned and stuck the tiger's eye back into a jacket pocket. "Well, once in Egypt we all got dragged out so someone could explain what they thought happened when we died- I think it was for the benefit of Geoffrey's idiot cousin. I know scales had something to do with it."   
"Hold that thought." Rex ran to the living-room bookcase in which the more-or-less common interests of the Raptor family were advertised. A large section of it was devoted to paleontology- his father had studied that in college before turning to business (he was responsible for the older books). Rex had picked it up from him (his father had always claimed they named him Rex after the St. Bernard his mother had had as a kid, but he knew better. He knew the real name of the St. Bernard was Adrian) and his own interest accounted for the newer books. But that wasn't what he was looking for.   
Ah, there it was- Professor Hawkins had given them a book on ancient Egypt one Christmas several years ago. None of them had been particularly interested in it, but it stayed on the shelf for the sake of being polite. Rex yanked it off the shelf and headed back to his room.   
Once there, he turned to the index and located the section on Egyptian religion, then handed it to Dar. Dar looked through it some more and then shouted in triumph- a shout quickly cut short when he remembered where he was. 

*** 

Cassiel let out a dismayed sigh and slumped against the wall. "You see?" he told Aaron. "They haven't got any room for us."   
"Don't be ridiculous. They will."   
Cassiel shook his head. "I heard him say it." He cast a glance toward the cards, which had been left on the counter. There was no way, he thought, that he could hope they had a place for him here. Chihiro Snow was right- no honest Master could ever command him with his card in the state that it was in. Ailill and Tani weren't exactly the strongest, true, but they were still a long way above him.   
_ Their_ cards, after all, were completely intact. 

*** 

"So if they aren't telling the truth, then they can look forward to an eternity of not being."   
Rex gaped at the Scales, which were suddenly imbued with new importance. "And you're saying these can do that?"   
Dar nodded. "Yeah, I think so."   
_ So stop yapping and let me _do _something already!_   
This time Rex and Dar both gaped at the Scales.   
_ Go on, fish head! Or are you too scared?_   
"Rex!" someone yelled outside. "Dinner!"   
Rex threw the Scales under the bed while yelling that he was coming; Dar proceeded to dive under said bed. Rex ran out the door, not forgetting to shut it.   
Dar spent maybe thirty seconds under the bed before the Scales began to glow. 

*** 

Dinner at the Kaiba house was either loud or quiet, depending on who you watched. Ryuunosuke was a shrinking violet as always, allowing himself periodic glances in Chihiro's direction. Chihiro was just as silent, and she did not allow herself to look at anything but the food. Seto Kaiba himself combined silence with an icy glare directed toward anyone who dared to look in his direction.   
Mokuba, on the other hand, seemed to have a cascade of words bubbling out of his mouth- the kind of waterfall in which the water was piped up to fall down again, in an cycle that would continue until some piece of machinery broke down. In between sequences of bite-chew-swallow he told jokes, he laughed at counter-jokes, he recited the events of his day –except for the parts he had deemed boring.   
Usually he spoke this way only with his brother. But tonight he spoke to Haku and Sapphire. They were cautious at first, but ultimately responded in kind.   
This did not make Seto Kaiba at all happy.   
"Yeah, ninety percent is really good." That would be his science test. "Oh yeah, I got best in the class. But then they said Seto'd paid the teacher to give me higher than it should be. It was lower, actually. Because you see, they took points off because I forgot to write in the class-"   
This wasn't the way things were supposed to be. Mokuba was supposed to tell his triumphs and disappointments to his older brother first and foremost. Not to a couple of Blue Eyes White Dragons! Seto was tempted to take the cards and wish with all his heart that they would just be zapped back into them and things would go back to exactly the way they were.   
He had been perfectly happy with things the way they had been. Perfectly happy without living breathing Duel Monsters in his house. Perfectly happy without Jane suddenly developing a will of her own.   
Perfectly happy without the one happenstance that had wound up with him at the controls of Kaiba Corp. Take out that, and the rest followed. He didn't even quire remember what his surname had been back then (whatever it was it wasn't Kaiba), but he wished for that time nevertheless.   
He scraped the last bit off his plate and pushed it away. He got up and walked for the door.   
Mokuba didn't even look towards him. 

*** 

Joey frowned at the package, hefting it, feeling how cold it was. "Where did this come from?"   
"It was just there," said Sandy. "Just there. Like that card from yesterday."   
Joey accepted this explanation and opened it. "Holy macaroni!" This call drew Brendan and Geoffrey into the room as well. He turned to face them. "A whole thing of rocky road!"   
"You either love it," said Brendan, "or you detest it. Am I correct about this?"   
Joey hurriedly shoved it into the freezer. "I love it! With it around I can't see how Téa's so crazy about vanilla!"   
Geoffrey contemplated it for a moment. "I think," he said, "you should check and see if Jade stuck another hiku somewhere in there."   
"Haiku," Brendan corrected him. "It's _hai-_ku."   
Geoffrey grinned. "I think I should go tell off Dar. It's obvious his Nightmare Sonic Blast has interfered with the proper workings of your mind. Just kidding," he added at Joey's expression. "Brendan's always been like this."   
"Damn." 

*** 

"Jade!" Miriam brushed golden hair from her face. "Lend me a dollar? Please?"   
Jade pulled the pockets of the pants he had borrowed inside-out. "No dice." Then, after seeing Miriam's expression, "No kidding, I haven't got anything."   
"You liar! I saw him give you eight for your turn!"   
He sighed. "I bought ice cream, okay? A lot of ice cream. Satisfied?" 

*** 

Rex retreated to his room immediately after shoving his plate into the sink. For a moment he wasn't sure he had returned to the same room. It definitely hadn't been that neat when he'd left. This one looked like one of those magazine ads for storage boxes.   
Except none of those ads he remembered had people sitting on the bed. One of them, of course, was Dar. The other immediately slid off the bed, folded his arms and glared. "I leave one sloppy fool, and what do I get? Another one!"   
"You back off," Dar told him, "or I'll show you what part of that 'evil knight' lives on."   
He smirked in response. "I'd like to see you try, you dumb dragon."   
Dar looked at Rex. "I hope you don't mind." He grabbed the Scales from their location on the bed and ran over to the window. He then proceeded to slide it open and hold the Scales out of it, as if to let go.   
"You buffoon! You wouldn't dare!"   
As Rex looked on, Dar's eyes began to shift, first to purple, then to bright blue. He smirked in much the way the other had done just about a minute previously. "I would, oh I would." Then back to dark blood. "Sorry about that, Rex," said Dar. "That would be the evil knight speaking."   
_ What the hell_, Rex reasoned with himself,_ it's not like a little more insanity would hurt_. He nodded.   
Dar closed the window and tossed the Scales high. They made an arc and landed on the bed once again, only this time they were off-kilter.   
Rex looked at their new companion. "What do you want to be called?"   
"Pharaoh."   
"No, seriously."   
"I am perfectly serious! I want to be called Pharaoh!"   
"Well, then," said Dar, "you won't be called Pharaoh. How about… Scale?"   
The arms, which had come undone during Dar's bluff, now refolded. "Figures you'd decide on what the idiot calls me."   
"Rex? What's going on in there?"   
Rex grabbed the Scales; their occupant, after a curse in a thankfully low volume, vanished into them. They went back under the bed; Dar joined them once again. "Oh," he told his father while making sure his legs were crossed, "I was listening to something on the radio, that's all."   
"I'm not sure you should be listening to that kind of thing-"   
"Well, do you see me going psycho, Dad?"   
A very long second, and then a smile. "No, my son's as un-psycho as can be." 


	11. Puzzles and Chocolate

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you for your reviews! Hope you decide to review this one, too! Oh, and by the way, I'll be referring to the dub "Millennium Key" as the "Millennium Ankh" because if I didn't the spirit would have to be renamed Key.   
Indigo Tantarian: Thanks again!   
Monoshiri: The "Pharaoh" thing was kind of a joke to myself from the twenty-third or so chapter of Three in One Combo, whose author, Indigo Tantarian, gave me permission to use Ankh and Scale in this story. According to her, Scale bears a considerable resemblance to Shadi, only he's more... yami-ish.   
Alex Warlorn: Actually, I'm not sure why I put Koumori Dragon in the story. I mentioned her a few times in Crisis of Faith (in which she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder) and I guess I felt like writing her as something other than a traumatized elective-mute.   
And regarding Rex getting the Millennium Scales- I guess I shouldn't have gone to the trouble of thinking up supposed-to-be-funny disclaimers. I made one up for chapter seven or thereabouts saying something to the effect of "The day I own Yu-Gi-Oh is the day Rex gets the Scales and sends Weevil to the Shadow Realm." The idea got stuck :) And didn't Pegasus have issues? Sure, it could be argued that he shouldn't have received the Eye, but he got it anyway, did he not? 

DISCLAIMER: Look out the window. If you see flying pigs, then I own Yu-Gi-Oh. 

Eleven: Puzzles and Chocolate   
November 5-6, 2003 "Mokuba?"   
"Yeah, Seto?"   
He had selected the location for the discussion carefully; it wound up as his own bedroom. He sat on the bed and Mokuba joined him somewhat reluctantly. "What's wrong?"   
"Nothing," said Mokuba, but his eyes told the truth. "… you."   
"Me?"   
"Yes, you, Seto." Mokuba began to fidget. "You see, Seto, I got an message, and it had you talking to Haku and…"   
Seto nearly ran out and cut off Jane's power source right then and there.   
"… and you were really mean to him. Seto, you didn't use to be like that."   
"Who sent the message?"   
Mokuba looked down. "Can't tell you. But it wasn't Haku. Definitely it wasn't Haku."   
"Oh really."   
"Really."   
Before Seto could continue to try and worm the identity of the sender of the message out of Mokuba, the floor began to swirl. As they gaped and Seto tried to figure out whether to call the police, the fire department, an ambulance, or possibly a psychiatrist, a turban emerged from the center of the swirl, followed by the head on which that turban was wrapped.   
Definitely a psychiatrist, he decided. 

*** 

"Dar?"   
Dar looked up from the tiger's eye, which he had resumed playing with. "Yeah?"   
"… you're not going?"   
Pause. "No," said Dar. "I'm taking a leaf out of Job's book. I'm not going back there. He can come and drag me back if he wants to. The size of that if is quite possibly tremendous."   
"If he wants," said Rex, "and if he can get past me first. I am going to do what I should have done way earlier."   
The Scales glowed. "It had better," said Scale, "include me. And you'd better say thank you for it. And give me chocolate, too. Or I'll send you to Anubis!"   
Rex rolled his eyes and went for his bag. "Fine."   
Scale's eyes widened. He grabbed the giant candy bar Rex produced and with one gulp there no longer was a giant candy bar.   
Dar blinked. "I thought you said you were too old to do that."   
"I am," said Rex. "But I liberated some of the leftovers."   
"You mean there are more?" Scale yelled, blue eyes darting back and forth (they were around the same shade as Dar's other half, Rex noted). "Where are they? Where are they? Tell me!"   
They were interrupted by Rex going to the door and reassuring his parents that yes, it was just something on the radio, a special feature or something; then he was saying oh yeah, fine with me. Then, when they had left satisfied, Scale's yelling resumed. Dar started toward the Scales again, and he stopped as quickly as if he really were just a voice on the radio and the plug had been pulled.   
"What was fine with you?" Dar asked.   
Rex shrugged. "Thanksgiving break. Lake Tahoe. They were just telling me in extreme advance, actually remembered the short-notice rule."   
Dar nodded, comprehending. The Raptor family had gone to the same location last year; Dar hadn't been there, but Rex had shown him the pictures (though Dar still failed to comprehend the concept of Thanksgiving, and finally Rex had explained it as an excuse to call off school and eat like hungry dinosaurs). "The half here or the half in Nevada?"   
"Both."   
Scale began to bounce on the bed. "What's Lake Tahoe?" he asked in a trying-to-be-bored tone. "Does it have chocolate?"   
"Nah," said Rex, "it has several tons of snow. And another couple tons of wind."   
"_Snow_?"   
"Really cold stuff," Dar supplied.   
Scale groaned and sprawled on the bed. "I knew that, weakling." Then, as Dar's eyes began to go purple again, "Back off, freak!" He growled. "I am going to kill that idiot for putting me in a family of lunatics. Who would want to go tramping around in that stuff?"   
Dar crossed his arms, and his eyes slowly returned to their proper color. "Not you, evidently. But he seems to like you. Birds of a feather, I guess."   
"It had better not be in that way. So. Give me the goods. What unlucky mortal is going to Anubis very, very soon?" 

*** 

Chihiro slid a piece into place and smiled as she looked over the result. It had been less than a week and the puzzle was already halfway completed. Then again, she had far more time to work on it than Mokuba could have had.   
She had honed her appetite for the things on a few simpler ones that Jane provided. She missed seeing the big picture's emergence as she drew closer to the completion of her task, but this was a true challenge. There was no hint as to where the pieces should go in relation to one another, no image scattered between several pieces so those had to go together. Yes, quite a challenge.   
Another piece went in. She went over the connections between pieces, giving a few of them a gentle push into their places, making them settle near-seamlessly into a white expanse.   
The door opened; it was not in her line of view. Ryuunosuke, most likely, coming to ask if there was anything he could do for her. She lowered her face even closer to the puzzle to make it clear that no, there wasn't anything he could do for her. He had done this several times before; always those times he had left in a short time and shut the door behind him.   
Chihiro waited, trying several different methods of joining another pair of pieces and then when none of them worked trying it again, but she didn't hear the door close.   
"Excuse me, Lady Chihiro." No, that wasn't Ryuunosuke.   
She turned and immediately added to her mental file of identification the silver hair and blue eyes and dark lines. "I must ask Ryuunosuke," said Chihiro, "if he had any relatives who might have possibly gone as well. You seem more like him every time I see you."   
"I apologize."   
"I didn't mean it that way_. I_ apologize."   
Cassiel had near the same expression that Ryuunosuke got whenever she said something like that. According to the cards they were both spellcasters of the Dark Attribute. Only she got a different feeling whenever she looked at Cassiel.   
Maybe, she reflected, it was because she respected power. Cassiel's numbers, while still inadequate against her in a simple battle, were over twice Ryuunosuke's numbers. Simply put, maybe she was being completely shallow, liking Cassiel for his numbers and for nothing else.   
She saw something in his hand- he saw the movement of her eye, and he held the thing out in plain view. It was a card, and Chihiro could read the words at the top.   
But it wouldn't matter if his numbers were higher than those of Obelisk the Tormentor; tamper with the card, and to Masters he was absolutely worthless. And she had the strangest feeling that that was the difference. Besides the low numbers (and those were the fault of Maximilian Pegasus; Ryuunosuke could hold his own far better than the twelve-hundred attack power implied) there was absolutely nothing wrong with Ryuunosuke's card.   
Then again, there was nothing wrong with her card either.   
_ Besides, of course, the fact that I am now Master's second best even in the deck. In the entire world, it's more like eighth. With Kuriboh being the seventh._   
After a certain point, she guessed, it no longer mattered. The ones down there probably (after all, she wasn't one of them) didn't have to worry about maintaining their positions, since they were too low on the Masters' good-card hierarchy to care about going up or down by a little bit. But up here, where all could see, a slip of one or two slots might as well have been a hundred. 

*** 

_ Shadi, there are more of them in here!_   
Shadi took a moment to get his bearings in the room, quickly identifying the two people originally in the room. _Which ones, Ankh?_   
_ Lord of Dragons, and… by Ra, he wished for all three Blue Eyes White Dragons!_   
Shadi managed to refrain from a frustrated groan. Now he had to be even more diplomatic, lest the dragons take offense.   
"I apologize for the intrusion," he began.   
Kaiba folded his arms. "Apology accepted. Now get out."   
Shadi sighed, just a little bit. Apparently he would have his work cut out for him. "I must discuss something with you- both of you."   
_ Shadi! There's someone else._   
_ Another one?_   
_ A Dark Magician- not the Pharaoh's Servant, a different one. That's strange… I didn't believe he had a Dark Magician in his deck._   
_ Perhaps it was one of those cousins the Pharaoh spoke of, coming for a visit._   
"Okay," said Mokuba Kaiba. "What do you want to discuss?"   
"I encountered a person," said Shadi, "whose desire for justice was so great that it combined with the desire for justice of his strongest Duel Monster to create a call for the Millennium Scales."   
Kaiba's arms grew even more tightly folded. "And what does this have to do with us?"   
"The Scales can be deadly if wielded correctly." Shadi's hand went to his belt to pull it out and hold it before them, but then he remembered he was no longer in possession of the Scales. "And I would prefer that the balance be brought back to normal with a minimum of deaths."   
"So," said the younger Kaiba, "you gave him something that can kill people and now you're coming to us to try and straighten it out before he actually kills someone? That makes no sense."   
Shadi sighed again. "The Millennium Ankh tells me that the Scales' new chosen believes you allowed a cheater to go unpunished." Mokuba's eyes widened. "Judging by your reaction, I believe you understand what I refer to."   
Mokuba groaned. "I tried to explain, but they wouldn't listen!"   
The word caught his brother's attention. "They? Who is 'they'?"   
"It's like this. Someone called Dar De-La-Angry or something got an appointment with me to get Rex Raptor back in the tournament, 'cause he thought the guy who beat Rex was cheating. But then, see, I found out he was actually Serpent Night Dragon."   
Shadi recalled what he knew of Serpent Night Dragon and nodded. "I see. Go on."   
"But, you see, the guy who cheated was already out of the tournament."   
An eyebrow arched over a blue eye. "Mokuba, would the person who eliminated the cheater be named Yugi Motou by any chance?"   
Mokuba shook his head. "Joey Wheeler. But you see, he was still going around with Rex's rarest card which he shouldn't have had."   
"And apparently," said Shadi, "you made it clear that he would continue to go around with that card for one reason or another. For if you exercised your power to return the card, they would not want justice so badly."   
One hand gestured towards the bed on which the owner of the bed was seated. "Go on. This could take a while." 

*** 

"I thought," said Cassiel, "maybe you could understand. I thought maybe there was a place for me here, if there was no room elsewhere. I apologize."   
"What," said Chihiro, "exactly what, do you have to apologize for? There is plenty of room here."   
He didn't have a reply to that. Instead, he changed the subject. "Were you working on that?" Namely, the puzzle.   
"Yes," she said, "I was. Would you like to join me?"   
Eyes set in motion by his remaining qualms moved their full range to both the right and left, avoiding her gaze. Then they settled fully on her. Cassiel smiled and she knew what he would say even before he opened his mouth.   
And then she heard the door close. 

*** 

Chihiro had asked him to work on the puzzle with her. And Ryuunosuke knew what that meant.   
_ Bad day bad day bad day._   
She had been five or so years younger Before, but even then she stuck to her word. _When I do a puzzle with someone, she said, and that someone is a boy, you had better believe I love him, at least for then._   
He had always known it was a foolish hope, had always known in the back of his mind that there was absolutely no chance that she would ever ask The Question. Before he could always fool himself, believe despite what was in front of his mind's eyes that someday Chihiro would ask him to do one with her.   
But Ryuunosuke did not get along with puzzles. He generally preferred everything laid out nicely, no obstacles, no challenge. For her, of course, no challenge meant no purpose whatsoever. Once, a long time ago, Ryuunosuke had tried to force himself to like them, had told himself he was duty-bound to like them. He had wound up with even greater ill will toward them than he had had previously.   
Now it couldn't be denied. Now it was shoved right before his eyes, not just his mind's eyes where it could be explained away, but in his physical eyes.   
He stopped and leaned against the wall outside the door to Jane's room, looking at its smooth blankness, nothing to distract him. The message he sent to Mokuba- could that have been it? Chihiro was nothing if not loyal; had she interpreted it as an insult to Seto Kaiba's authority? He'd thought he was making things better, really and truly.   
But were things really and truly better? He'd seen how Mokuba had been pointedly ignoring his own brother during dinner- had that been a result of the message as well?   
"I pledge in the name of Tiamat," he muttered, tears making their presence known, "I will never think I am making things better again. I will never try to make things better again."   
He felt pressure on his shoulders- the pressure that was probably exerted by a hand. "You pledge in the name of Tiamat?" said Haku. "According to everything we learned together, she died in the name of making things better, setting things straight. To pledge to never try to make things better, to pledge it in her name, is practically blasphemy."   
Ryuunosuke nodded as he recalled the lessons. "I never can get things right."   
"Don't be ridiculous. Everyone has to get something right."   
"Except for me."   
Haku's voice developed a sharp edge. "Listen, Ryuu-chan." Ryuunosuke jerked around, half-expecting to see Haku Snow at six years old again- that was when he had stopped using the nickname. "That is the most stupid excuse I have ever heard."   
"I- I didn't think of it as an excuse."   
"Of course not," said Haku. "It's the kind of thing you think would be a virtue. And I admit everyone else, not to mention those stupid numbers, didn't exactly discourage this misconception." The pressure grew, turned into a pull. "But let's get this straight. It wasn't your fault about those numbers. I know they're half what they should be. It wasn't your fault about Pegasus or Mokuba or that freak. It wasn't your fault about Obelisk. It wasn't your fault that you have no spine." Ryuunosuke couldn't exactly deny the last statement.   
"None of that," and Haku took a deep breath, "was your fault, Ryuu-chan. Kimi wa wakarismas ka?" Do you understand?   
Ryuunosuke nodded and replied in Japanese as well. The words had been near-forgotten through years in Egypt, but when he wanted them, they came. "But, the message…"   
Haku smiled. "Oh, I forgot. Thank you." Ryuunosuke started to open his mouth and protest, say that he didn't deserve that honor, but one look at Haku's expression and he concluded that wasn't the best thing to say. "Even if things aren't really and truly better- and I think they are- they're the way they should be."   
Another nod. Chihiro's brother, at least, thought he had done something right. That was something. 

*** 

"I see," said Shadi. "A severe misunderstanding, indeed. But tell me, why did you wish for the Blue Eyes White Dragons?"   
Mokuba crossed his arms, looking very much like his brother. "I just did. I didn't think they'd actually turn up. What d'you want me to do? Send them all back?"   
Shadi took it slowly, trying to avoid unleashing strong feelings. "That is a definite possibility. I understand it must be hard to think of them living in the Shadow Realm for the rest of eternity-"   
"Hard to think about it?" Mokuba cut him off. "Sapphire's just about as old as me, and you're saying I ought to send him back and let him rot back wherever he came from! Why?"   
Shadi sighed. "Pegasus may have underestimated the true strength of a considerable number of monsters, but the Blue Eyes White Dragons were and are in the upper ranks. In ancient times, the Shadow Games threatened to destroy Egypt and then the rest of the world."   
Blue eyes glared. "I've heard this story before. And what do you mean by 'underestimate'?"   
"That's a fair question," said Shadi, countering Seto Kaiba's glare with a well-practiced deadpan expression. "You see, many of the monsters were considerably stronger than the numbers on the cards imply. Celtic Guardian and Lord of Dragons, for example. And even a Kuriboh is capable of killing an ordinary human, even though it might sustain severe injuries. I do not believe I need to describe to you what one of the dragons is capable of."   
One eyebrow arched. "Tell me anyway."   
He sighed. "The apocryphal tales of the Shadow Games tell of a Blue Eyes White Dragon rescuing the High Priest and the Pharaoh from an assassination attempt. It is said that it leveled several residences in the process."   
The Kaiba brothers looked like they expected their own residence to be leveled shortly after Shadi finished the sentence. Then Mokuba said, "But Sapphire's my friend! He'd never do something like that!"   
"Perhaps not deliberately, but even the best of intentions may translate into-"   
Mokuba shook his head. "Are you listening to yourself? You might mean good things, but you are not sending back Sapphire, or the others either. Not unless they want to."   
_ Shadi, that sounds reasonable enough. They haven't done any harm, after all. Shouldn't we go see what Scale is up to now? After all, Blue Eyes White Dragons obviously don't have red eyes._   
_ Good point, Ankh_. "I apologize for my indiscretion. I will be departing now." 

*** 

"Anywhere between three and four, or a little after seven," said Dar. "Any one of those you can wangle, go for it. I'd recommend after seven."   
Rex nodded. "After seven, then. Friday okay with you? Easier to explain it off that way."   
"Yeah, Friday's fine with me."   
Scale sulked. "That long?! Make it sooner, or I might just send off someone else. Like you!"   
"Scale," said Dar in an extremely patient tone, "we are already incredibly stretching the already-suspended disbelief of Rex's parents. I would rather not make it snap before the end of this. Or even after. And his sudden disappearance would do a lot more than just snap it."   
"What," said Scale, "they bother to notice the absence of a little dog like you?"   
"Don't push it," Rex growled.   
Eyes shifted to blue. "Well, if there was only one little dog and it had been around for fifteen years, wouldn't you notice if it were gone?"   
"They wouldn't have noticed," Scale muttered, "if I'd managed to break every single thing inside of me that could be broken. Even if I robbed tombs they wouldn't have noticed. Why should they've noticed?"   
Dar (his eyes had returned to red) and Rex opened their mouths and the exact same monosyllable word emerged from each. "What?"   
"Nothing!" He glared. "You didn't hear anything, got that?" 

*** 

"Hey!" Esper yelled. "It's time!"   
All the Roba brothers congregated in the living room. Glasses were passed around, and Esper produced a plastic gallon container of milk. The game had grown out of necessity after the refrigerator had gone and they had to finish it in two hours or less or risk food poisoning. Necessity still had something to do with it, but now fun played a bigger part.   
"Okay, get Kyo's first." That was done. It was only fair- the baby couldn't participate, after all.   
"Ready… begin!"   
Charlie managed to get hold of the container first. He dumped so much into his glass that it actually went a little bit over. Tommy grabbed it next- Danny could have done so, but he was the only member of the family not interested in the game. He poured so much some of it spilled on the carpet. Then Danny had it, taking his time and ignoring the glares from Charlie and Tom, who had mostly finished their first gulps. Finally, it passed to Esper. They continued this until the container was empty.   
"Four glasses," said Charlie. "I win!"   
"Three and a half," said Tom, "but mine were fuller than yours."   
"It doesn't count if you spill it!"   
Meanwhile, Kyo had finished his share (with some help from Rigel- and not in the here-I'll-drink-it-for-you department) and had made it quite clear that he didn't think it was enough. Esper handed over his half-finished glass; Kyo seemed to be satisfied with this.   
"Hey," said Tom, "d'you know where Dar went off to?" 

*** 

"I have a claim on the bed." Sandy folded his arms. "'Sides, I'm younger than you."   
"You had it for two nights straight already. And you'll always be younger than me," Geoffrey protested, "unless he wishes for Time Wizard and I don't think he'll be doing that anytime soon."   
"Come on, please?" Whereupon Sandy clasped his hands, tilted his head to one side, and unleashed his ultimate weapon- the Big Blue Sparkly Cute Eyes That Would Rival Those Of A Toon In Size And Clobber Those Of A Toon In Sheer Sparkly Cute-ness.   
Geoffrey resisted them for a time, but submission was next to inevitable. "Fine," he muttered. "Just tonight. I didn't think a minute on the same field with them would teach you that much."   
"You should talk," said Sandy. "You're the one who got ferried 'round by them in that new game."   
"You think I had anything to do with that?" Geoffrey snapped. "They got whatever card they wanted when they wanted it in the new game! I was not involved!"   
The sparkly cute-ness had faded. "Like you weren't involved in those things with Lava Battleguard, and Brendan, and the Time Wizard…"   
Geoffrey calculated the probability of successfully carrying out the thing he was about to attempt. Pretty good, he decided. "Things were different there. And on second thought, I rescind my previous words on the grounds of new circumstances. I claim the bed."   
Sandy was quick, but even so he banged into a closed door.   
The room was definitely not at its best. Joey's father, its previous occupant (since his eviction via Jade he had taken to sleeping on the lawn; fortunately for him the nights were unseasonably warm), had left alcohol bottles all over the floor, not to mention spilled some on the bed. It had taken quite a while for them to clean out the bottles and wash all the bedding, and it still smelled strange. They couldn't take out the carpet and wash it, after all.   
Geoffrey looked back at the vibrating door. "Sandy," he yelled, "I hope you remember where all that dragon treasure is, because you're going to need it when you break it down. Do you expect him to pay for a mess you made?"   
Sandy apparently decided he didn't like that idea. The vibrations stopped. "Thank you."   
He lay on the bed and continued the train of thought that had been delayed by the events immediately following its inspiration. Dar had been amazed, not to mention jealous, when Geoffrey had recounted the events in the new game.   
_ So they really touched you? And they carried you, too? No fair!_   
_ You are a dragon. You don't need carrying._   
_ Still, it's no fair._   
He recalled the botched summoning shortly after Dar's card changed hands. And, of course, the circumstances of Dar's changing hands. "What, exactly," he muttered, "is yes fair?" 

*** 

"I didn't think," said Cassiel, "that it would be finished in such a short amount of time."   
Chihiro brushed back a strand of hair. Just a few more shades toward silver, and it would have been exactly the same color as Cassiel's. But he liked it just the way it was. "Neither did I. Simple mathematics. If it takes such-and-such amount of time for one person to carry out a task, it takes half the time for two people to do it. It is, indeed, simple mathematics, excluding several vital factors as it does."   
"Vital factors?"   
"Such as whether or not the abilities of the two people are equal."   
Cassiel was afraid to ask, but he did it anyway, thinking of Aaron as he did. "Were they?"   
"Not only that," she said, "but whether their abilities coincide with the task at hand. Whether they can work well together, that is." She held up a hand before he even began to speak. "And, yes, I believe that in this case, that factor definitely made a difference."   
Despite the fact that Cassiel had to define their relationship as at least knowing one another, he was surprised that she'd actually say something like that. It seemed far too blatant a hint for someone like her to make. This must have shown on his face, because the next thing she said was, "You didn't think I'd say that."   
There was no point in lying, even a polite lie. "No," he said, "I didn't think… you were a person to say that. Because… well, you are-"   
She kissed him.   
Not on the mouth- that would have been too much. But a kiss was a kiss, and this one surprised Cassiel so much that he almost pulled away. Almost.   
But almost wasn't the same as is.   
She took several steps backward and looked him up and down. "Well," she said, "did you think I was a person to do that?"   
"… no."   
"Good, because I'm not planning on doing it in the extremely near future."   
He almost kissed her back. Instead he said, "What about just the near future?"   
"That sounds good to me." 

*** 

After his traveling through time zones (not to mention the week before these events had been quite hectic) Shadi was in serious need of sleep. Therefore, he delayed checking up on Scale to Thursday (and he did not dismiss the possibility of Friday) and paid a visit to Isis Ishtar's residence. She was a good deal more surprised than Shadi had expected when he gave her the reason why he no longer had the Scales with him.   
"The Millennium Scales changing owners was not in the visions," she said. "Now everything will change."   
She lent Malik's old bedroom to him. It had been clean and gutted of any disturbing possessions of his (Shadi resisted the urge to ask if she'd seen the necessity of doing this in the visions), and any fatalistic thoughts of its previous occupant were overcome by his sheer exhaustion.   
He began to conduct research in the morning, first checking the newspapers for any updates on the Abnormal Incidents he had learned of. Just some more stupid speculations which made use of words that Shadi was pretty sure were just stuck in to sound impressive. There was nothing new under the sun in that department.   
He backtracked to Saturday and Sunday, and there he found another pair of Abnormal Incidents, though those probably didn't involve Serpent Night Dragon. It was time, he decided, for some firsthand information.   
So he went to the hospital (the security was now even higher), using the same trick of life-force suppression to get past the staff and into the right room.   
Pegasus was the first person in the hospital to see him. "I do believe," he said, "that there are Duel Monsters running around in Domino, and violent ones. Is that why you came to see me?"   
Shadi allowed himself a smile. "Pegasus," he said, "the way you talk, I can't help but doubt that you really did lose the Eye." 

*** 

Dar, unlike Rex, did not have academic records. So instead he paid a visit to the library (taking the Scales along- it would be truly rotten if some moron happened to break into the house and run off with them), where he read up on dinosaurs (it was at this point that he discovered that the Duel Monster Trakodon wasn't a Trakodon at all) and found some very interesting books dealing with justice and ethics. He checked out a stack of those on Rex's library card.   
Justice, he discovered, was supposed to have an awful lot to do with objectivity. But these days, as Before, it wasn't really that objective. Judges and juries made decisions that were generally based on what _they _thought was right (and some of the examples of what they thought was right made Dar want to scream at the idiocy of the human race right in the middle of the library).   
The Scales, for example. They were supposed to weigh the heart of a person depending on the purity of their soul compared to a feather; they were supposed to be completely objective. Indeed, Dar had found fault with the original proselytizer who had told them (though Michael Gaia, the probable intended target, had definitely not been listening) that the purity of a soul was judged depending on how many statements attesting to their virtue they could truthfully make. Dar had wondered what they would do to a criminal who refused to make those statements and said straight out that he had committed crimes.   
"Probably," Scale groused, materializing beside him, "then he would go marching merrily along to eternal bliss and nobody could lay a finger on him. That happened right when I was going to send that tomb robber to Anubis. The little worm he'd taken over-"   
Dar felt a somewhat-amiable changing-hands of the body that he had settled into the habit of referring to as his. They had reached an accommodation of sorts- Dar got primary custody, and the knight (like Scale, he refused to reveal his name from before) got to smash insects and talk to Scale. "Go on, what did the little idiot do?"   
Scale was evidently encouraged by his audience. "He said oh please oh please don't take him because all he wants to do is fight the Pharaoh… it took his answer instead of the tomb robber's. And guess what?"   
Dar wondered what would happen if the Scales took the answer of one of the younger Robas.   
"Hey," said Scale, "where's the rest of that chocolate?"   



	12. A Matter of Mathematics

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Gee, this is my longest story yet!   
Monoshiri: Actually, Chihiro knows very well Ryuunosuke likes her. Unfortunately, as stated in Chapter 6, the more romantic feelings aren't mutual.   
Alex Warlorn: Half of Lake Tahoe is in California, and half of it is in Nevada. From what I know about Kuriboh, they're like living grenades. Grenades can kill people. And I never said Toons were cute; I said their eyes were big. 

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I do, however, own an Upperdeck duelist account (whether I'm going to _use _it is another story). I'm officially Lady of DragonFaith, and judging from the fact that my previous two attempts were rejected, there's apparently another Lord of D. fangirl out there. And I thought I was being original. 

WARNINGS: Religious references, yaoi/shounen ai (no sex here) 

_"The _what _dragon?"_   
_-Mai_

Twelve: A Matter of Mathematics   
November 6-7, 2003 "I don't miss him," said Esper Roba. "I hope he stays away forever. I hope I 'accidentally' drop that card into a paper shredder." This mantra had about as much effect on him as the last five dozen repetitions had.   
Danny walked up. "Isn't it time to go yet?"   
Esper looked at the clock Danny shoved in his face and started. "Yeah, you're right, it is." 

_***_

Dar was there when the last so-called bell rang (or, rather, wailed) and Rex left his last class of the day. They walked back to the house, first stopping to buy a large bag of assorted candy from a store having a Halloween clearance sale. This was carried out after Dar explained why Scale had gotten up in the low numbers of the AM and ransacked the kitchen cabinets (fortunately, the damage hadn't been too severe).   
"I think," said Dar, producing a fistful of quarters and pennies, "this is the last of it." Rex briefly considered asking him where the rest of it had gone, but decided against it. Maybe Dar had just been really generous to that cousin he'd mentioned.   
Scale grabbed the bag and tore into it. He did not say thank you; Rex hadn't thought he would. Dar began to read one of the paleontology books with Ran and Sora crowding near him, while Rex started on his homework, or tried to. There were so many other things to think about. Such as what was going to happen on Friday, and that seemed a lot more relevant to his life than geometry could ever be.   
Just when he was giving it up as a lost cause, he noticed the floor swirling like there was a drain right there. Only- insert incredulous blink here- he thought things were supposed to go down a drain, not up a drain.   
And he'd never, ever expected an entire, living, breathing person to come up a drain. 

*** 

Shadi got his bearings and began to speak when he hadn't quite completed the ritual. "I hope we haven't come at an inconvenient time."   
Scale threw some mutilated candy wrappers (the smears around his mouth were a testimony to where the candy had gone) at him. "Get lost, fish eyes." Serpent Night Dragon promptly dropped the book he had apparently been engrossed in and scrambled to catch the wrappers; even so, a few of them fell through the not-quite-solid floor.   
Shadi wondered briefly whether the wrappers would land in Pegasus's hospital room or be flung about the Shadow Realm. "I trust you are doing well?"   
"Well?" Scale consumed another handful of candy before responding. "This is perfection! Then again, compared to you two twits, just about anything's perfection."   
One of the heads of King Rex looked up. "Two?"   
Shadi sighed. "Allow me to explain…" 

*** 

Seto stepped out of the limousine, first previewing his messages to see if anything of note had happened at Kaiba Corp. between lunchtime at the high school and his arrival (nothing had). Then he set about completing his homework- not doing, completing. Considering his distinct lack of friends, there was little else he could do with the free time allotted by the school.   
It took him less than an hour. He checked the last mathematics problem (of course, everything was laid out nice and neat just as the teacher wanted; they could not abide people who worked out the entire problem mentally and still had few to none errors) and went to visit Jane.   
"Welcome back."   
"Don't 'welcome back' me."   
"Ah, so I shouldn't say that?"   
"This has gone too far."   
Jane sighed; if it hadn't come from the speakers and been programmed in by himself he would have been convinced of humanity. As it was, he was only irritated further. "_You _went too far. Now _you_ stop. If you dare."   
_ Okay, this is a really bad movie. I've already gone through the part where I design the most advanced computer in the world and get famous. Now's the part when the computer tries to take over the world._   
"Don't worry, I'm not going to attempt world domination just yet. Far too much competition. I just wanted to tell you what an idiot you're being."   
Seto typed instructions prohibiting automatic shutdown. If he was going to have an argument with the computer, he was going to make sure the computer wouldn't bow out. "Tell me who sent that message. Voice identification, not user."   
"Tell me, what message?" Jane countered. "I'm just a stupid computer, you know."   
Seto consulted the printouts from Mokuba's mini-computer and recited the specifics. "Ah. That would be Ryuunosuke."   
He'd expected to hear Haku (Occam's Razor said the simplest choice was most likely), Chihiro, maybe even Sapphire using his siblings' accounts. If the amount of surprise had been translated to physical action, then Jane would have shoved him straight out of the room. Ryuunosuke the so-called Lord of Dragons? Who, all observations indicated, had no spine?   
Then again, it wasn't so preposterous. There was that locked file. And still waters ran deep; Seto had himself as living proof of that statement.   
"He thought he was doing the right thing," said Jane. "And he was."   
"What do you mean, the right thing?" Seto had to take several deep breaths to keep himself from yelling. "Mokuba won't talk to me anymore, and you think that's a good thing?"   
"Wouldn't you rather," said Jane, "live in a not-always-pleasant world built on truth than a pleasant world built on lies? He's growing up, he's getting smart. He won't idolize you, and, to be frank, you won't deserve to be idolized, if you behave like a stubborn donkey."   
Seto noted with a sort of rueful delight that the programmed blocker preventing Jane from using profanity was still in place. "I'll choose the latter, thank you."   
"The problem with lies is they're not usually good building material. Lies snap all too easily, and where will you be then?" Jane laughed. "Your original set already has, and I am not going to let you build them all over again. This time you're going to go with more reliable stuff. It might not be as comfy as you want, but it's good for you. I swear."   
"And what do you want me to do?"   
"First things first- go find Haku and say sorry. That can't be so hard."   
"You have no idea," Seto muttered after he was a somewhat-safe distance from the computer. "You have no idea." 

*** 

"So he's always been like this?"   
Shadi sighed. "I hoped you would never have to experience him after consumption of chocolate."   
"It can't be any worse," said Dar, "than experiencing him before consumption of chocolate. Can it?"   
"I believe," said Shadi, "he is currently dismantling one of your books."   
Rex grabbed the Millennium Scales. "Well, I'll have to stop that-"   
Scale was, to his obvious consternation, clobbered over the head with his own set of Scales and drawn into them via ownership privileges. Rex gathered the mangled remnants and gave them a solemn burial at wastepaper basket, buried under a stack of candy wrappers folded into shapes superficially resembling origami.   
"At least it was just the record book." He frowned and touched his forehead. "Am I schizo-whatsit, or is he really yelling inside my head?"   
"He is really yelling inside your head," Shadi told him. "But it should improve in a while. Either that or it will worsen. It depends on how you perceive it."   
Rex frowned as he sensed the change, then shrugged. "At least he's not yelling anymore."   
"Some people," said Shadi, "find his laughter more disturbing."   
"Well, I'm not one of those people."   
"That's good. It should clear up in several hours. Tell me," and here Shadi fingered the Ankh, "how do you intend to use the Millennium Scales?"   
Rex shrugged again. "I guess I'll use it to get back the card."   
His tone was entirely too casual. "Are you aware of what the Scales can do?"   
"I think if someone is bad they don't get to Egyptian heaven. Right?"   
"Anyone who fails the test," said Shadi, "is sent straight to Anubis. Anyone and everyone."   
Eyes widened. He obviously hadn't expected that. "Right then and there?"   
"Right then and there."   
"How bad do they have to be to fail it?"   
Shadi contemplated this for a moment. "I am not quite certain. However, if they pass the test, then we must honor any requests they may have, according to the goddess whose power the Scales contains."   
Serpent Night Dragon grinned in a curious manner. "So they're real? Real-real-real? Not just in stories of what they'll do to you when you do wrong?"   
"Of course," said Shadi. "Anubis appears whenever someone fails the test. You did not know this?"   
Serpent Night Dragon threw his head back and laughed; it had no malice, just the fact that he thought something was funny. "No wonder I didn't get an answer! Wait till Geoffrey hears about this! Least he won't have to worry about going to hell anymore."   
"If you don't mind my asking… Serpent Night Dragon," said Shadi, "who is Geoffrey?"   
He'd stopped laughing and now the grin was back. The red eyes didn't look so disturbing anymore. "Oh, please, call me Dar. Or if you insist on being formal, DelaSangre. That would be Geoffrey Giltia, known to many as the aspiring Dark Magician, and he was somewhat worried because he's one of those people who thinks there's only one god, who thinks a lot of things that went on Before are wrong." Dar DelaSangre leaned against a convenient wall, hands behind his head. "So according to Geoffrey he'd probably be up on two counts. One, last time I checked, we're friends."   
Shadi resolved to find some sort of dictionary to look up the meaning of both first and surname; he was sure they held some significance. "I see. Go on."   
"Two, he's… well… an aspiring Dark Magician. Even if his spells don't always work out."   
Shadi found himself mentally defending Dar DelaSangre from the charges of what he had in all likelihood done to the children and the crew of Lady of Fate. He was sure there was some kind of rational explanation for it; the subject did not seem like someone who would do this for no reason at all, or for recreational purposes.   
After all, the subject had befriended the Dark Knight (though how the latter had received the title when his attribute was light and his hair was anything but dark, Shadi could only guess at), and according to Ankh his thoughts were not on revenge. Ankh had sensed humiliation meted out by Esper Roba; no stereotypical impure soul would not fantasize of revenge for such a thing.   
_ Actually, Ankh reported, I think he has doubts about whether the Scales should be used at all._   
_ Considering their spirit's nature, Ankh, I can see where he's coming from…_   
_ It hasn't got much to do with Scale. He's worried about Roba's younger brothers- he's wondering who'll take care of them if Roba is sent to Anubis._   
_ Brothers…oh yes, the ones involved in the deception, correct?_   
_ And he thinks that Roba is in possession of another locator card._   
_ He is _what_?_   
"Excuse me?" said Rex.   
Shadi apologized to Ankh and withdrew his attention from that area. "Tell me, how many locator cards did you lose to this cheater?"   
Rex held up a finger. "One."   
"And how many did he bet?"   
"One, of course. Plus his Jinzo."   
"And how many did Joseph Wheeler win from him?"   
"One- oh, I see!"   
"What?" said the King Rex heads at the same time. Then they turned and glared at one another. "Stop that!" "Cut it out!"   
They tried again. "Stop being such a copycat!"   
Dar explained before they could bite each other's heads off- pun intended. "Roba had two. He only lost one. So he has another one somewhere."   
One of the heads stated the obvious question. "So why isn't he still in Battle City?"   
Scale emerged once more. "Perhaps," he said with a glint in his eye, "he suffers a crisis of conscience?"   
Shadi counted to three before the other occupants of the room (except for Dar) burst out in hysterical laughter. Then he apologized for the intrusion and sank into the floor.   
_ Shadi?_   
_ Yes?_   
_ I'm not sure the cheater deserves to go to Anubis, either._   
_ You are not alone, Ankh. You are not alone._   
With that, Shadi rose up from another floor. By the time he was completely out, three children with sea-green hair had gathered around him with wide eyes.   
"Excuse me," he said. "Do you know where I can find your brother?" 

*** 

Joey Wheeler was not in a good mood. Someone had noticed his father's new sleeping location and come over to inquire about it. Joey had given them a half-baked excuse about his father trying to get back to nature or something; they had obviously not bought it.   
He didn't _think_ they had seen Sandy the Baby Dragon running around, waving Geoffrey's spear and shrieking with laughter, but in all likelihood Murphy's Law would make its presence known.   
Not to mention the neighbor's arrival had interrupted his train of thought on a math problem and now it had to be thought out all over again. And Joey despised starting things over.   
His return to the damned problem had been delayed once more by an extremely concerned-sounding Yugi calling and telling him that Jade had vanished. Joey promised to keep an eye out, meaning it as he said it, and then promptly hung up and focused both eyes on the math.   
"Excuse me?"   
Joey looked up. "Yeah, Geoffrey?"   
"Could I please use the phone?"   
"Ya do know how to use it, right? How to dial, how to hang up, stuff like that?"   
"Of course."   
"And ya won't rip the cord or anything, right?"   
Geoffrey brushed back yellow hair and replied in a somewhat more irritated tone. "Right."   
"And it's not long-distance, right?"   
"It shouldn't be."   
"And ya won't be on too long, right?"   
"I won't."   
"Are ya sure ya know how to hang up?"   
"Joey," Geoffrey yelled, "If I hadn't known I wouldn't have asked!"   
"Oh. Right. Sorry." Joey grinned sheepishly and motioned in the direction of the phone. He returned to his math problem, keeping one ear focused on the sound of Geoffrey looking through the phone book, dialing, the doorbell ringing-   
"I've got it!" he yelled, warning the others away in case it was the neighbor again. He boxed the answer to the problem and then made for the door. He pressed his face close. "Yeah?" he shouted.   
"Joey?"   
Joey promptly opened the door. Jade smiled in a way that advertised his current emotional state as "I'm so nervous I'd scream when a frog croaked."   
"Did they turn out okay? Because… I counted the sounds later and I figured the count wasn't what it should have been. There were six in the last line and there should have been five-"   
Joey reached out and pulled him inside, shutting the door immediately afterward; he only considered the possibility that the neighbors might have been watching after the deed was done. Damn the neighbors, he decided. Besides, they just might have thought Jade was a girl. "The poetry stuff was fine, far as I could tell," he said. "What were you doing, running off an' freaking out Yuge like that? He thought maybe the Rare Hunters caught up with ya."   
"If they tried," said Jade, "I'd blast them. And tell them exactly where this Merrick person can stick his Rod-"   
"Dar? Is that you?" Joey kept himself from reflexively turning to the source of the sound; Geoffrey apparently was as competent with the phone as he had claimed, much to Joey's relief. "Yes, it's me." Pause. "That must stink." Longer pause. "Really? The Millennium _what_?" Still longer pause.   
By now Jade had noticed Geoffrey's current activity and was obviously watching it, so Joey felt safe in turning around and doing the same. Geoffrey looked straight at them and continued. "That's good! So he'll get your card back? Really and truly? Yes… well, that's even better! No, I don't think that was his fault." Sandy and Brendan had entered the room as well. Sandy pulled down the shades as he passed them; Joey felt himself color as he berated himself for not thinking of it. "Dar, I'm certain he at least skimmed the rules. It's just that old habits die hard and all that."   
Joey knew exactly what Geoffrey was referring to; he knew exactly who Geoffrey was talking to, and he knew that he himself had had an exchange with that person in the boys' bathroom that Monday. And he felt very much like breaking something. Taking a plate and dashing it against the kitchen floor, tearing apart the phone cord, something to that effect.   
"Hey," said Jade, "ya didn't expect all of us to agree with you 'bout everything, did ya? Did ya? I know ya didn't expect Brendan to like the kinda stuff he does." Joey nodded (because of course it was true), having no clue about which direction Jade would turn next; in the meantime Geoffrey was laughing at something. "Geoffrey and Dar go back a long way, and it's really not at all fair for 'em to stop now, just 'cause of something like this. It's just like what happened with Sandy and Sapph…"   
"Sapph?"   
"Short for Sapphire. One of the Blue Eyes."   
Joey sensed the direction in which this conversation was headed and he didn't much care for their destination. "They're friends, too?"   
"Yeah. I didn't see a lot of it 'cause I didn't get in the deck for a really long time, but I could tell. Then that battle came… and they just… stopped. Like it had never happened. And I'd rather that didn't happen here."   
Joey thought on this for a moment. He'd never thought Baby Dragon would befriend one of the Blue Eyes, but then again it wasn't as preposterous as Flame Swordsman loving poetry. And that had happened. Besides, if he judged all Duel Monsters based on how they looked in the holograms, how they executed actions not determined by themselves, and of course the duelists who used their cards, then he'd have quite a different picture of Jade.   
"So, ya see my point?"   
"Yeah," said Joey. "I see your point."   
At that point, Geoffrey said, "All right, goodbye," and hung up. He did it correctly, too. 

*** 

One of the children looked him over, then responded to his query. "He'll be back in 'round an hour. Are you an angel or something?"   
Shadi had to smile at that. "No, I have a warning for him."   
"Don't tell me you're here about taxes or something like that!"   
"No, it's not that kind of a warning." Shadi saw a Duel Monster, Reflect Bounder he thought, taking care of a baby. "How long have you had Duel Monsters living with you?"   
The first child responded promptly. "Since Sunday. But _he _wasn't there then. That would be Dar. Oh, and we haven't been introduced properly." He stuck out a hand. "I'm Tom Roba. Nice to meet you."   
Shadi gave his own name and lightly shook the proffered hand. "By Dar you mean-"   
"Oh, you want his last name?" Tom considered this for a moment. "I think it was- Angry or something. Dar De-La-Angry."   
"No," said one of his brothers, "it was DelaSangre. It's Spanish. Something to do with blood. Oh, and I'm Charlie."   
"Actually, I meant to ask, which Duel Monster?"   
"The Serpent Night Dragon Esper won in Battle City," said the third brother. "And Rigel, something stinks in here. I think Kyo's got something to do with it." The Reflect Bounder, newly labeled as Rigel, hastily picked up the baby and made for another door, apologizing along the way.   
"Ah, yes. I wished to warn you about something concerning him."   
"What," said Charlie, "he really is evil like Danny kept on saying at the start? I don't think so…"   
"No," said Shadi, "not that. Do you recall the duelist your brother- ah- won him from?"   
Charlie nodded. "Oh yeah, second in this year's regionals. The one with all the dinosaur cards. You do mean him, right?"   
"Yes, that would be Rex Raptor. You see, he has recently come into possession of a very dangerous object, the Millennium Scales."   
Tom scoffed. "How dangerous can scales be?"   
"You'd be surprised."   
That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Tom crossed his arms and frowned; for a moment Shadi thought of Kaiba. "I might not be in double digits yet, but I'm not stupid. Lots of things are more dangerous than scales! They're only dangerous when you hit people with them! And they're not made for hitting people!"   
"True enough," said Shadi, "for most scales. But the Millennium Scales are different. They have the power to send people to Anubis."   
Charlie's eyes expanded. "Say _what_?"   
_ Shadi,_ he told himself, _remember, you're not speaking to the Pharaoh. Knowledge of necessary information cannot be assumed._ "In other words, using the Scales is often fatal. And I suspect whom he intends to use the Scales against. Your brother."   
The third one- presumably Danny- spoke again. "What the- but he was looking out for us! That's all! He shouldn't ought to die for that!"   
Shadi recalled some of the other news reports he had gone through and felt somewhat disturbed that they were opening up so quickly; apparently, in this modern world, for children to speak so openly to strangers was inviting trouble. Then again, Ankh's powers probably had something to do with it; Ankh often had that effect on people.   
"I know. That's why I'm here. I'd like to see if there's a way to carry out justice before he is put in immediate danger."   
"Well," said Charlie, "I really do hope he doesn't go into immediate danger until past seven. That's when he ought to get back. I hope he never gets into immediate danger."   
"So do I. I hope you don't object if I stay here and wait for him."   
Charlie grinned. "Not at all. So, you want some potato chips? I've got half a bag left over from the lunch cart. They're the sour cream kind. You want some?"   
Shadi politely declined, sat down in the proffered chair, and waited for Esper Roba. 

*** 

_ It's a matter of mathematics. One in the duel disk box. That's one. One from Rex. That's two. One to Wheeler. That's one. Where did it go?_   
He had discussed it with Geoffrey. Fortunately, the Dark Knight (though how he had gained that title Dar had no idea, unless it was via association with Dar himself- Michael Gaia was the one whose skin had turned ebony under the Egyptian sun) bore no grudge towards him for his behavior that Monday. Geoffrey was very understanding, and laughed at Dar's recounting of several of the tactics he had employed. He had been a friend.   
But Geoffrey, too, was mystified as to what Esper Roba could possibly have done with that locator card.   
_ I guess we'll find out on Friday then._

*** 

Seto was not accustomed doing to this sort of thing; he blanked out. Haku waited a good sixty seconds for him to continue from his initial greeting, whereupon he said, "Some of my accusations were unfounded. I apologize for the inconvenience." He took several deep breaths while trying to think of an appropriate method to end his attempted apology; he settled for, "Now get out." Haku got out. Somewhat insensitive for his intended purpose, but effective.   
Once the door had shut, he went for his deck. Obelisk was on top, where he had placed it after the incident on Wednesday. He picked it up, admiring how the fluorescent light seemed to make it glow, seemingly with power waiting to be unleashed. Guess I'm a poet and didn't know it. Seto smiled. Then he looked for a paper shredder. The simple rip that had finished off the fourth Blue Eyes simply would not do for his purposes. Maybe some Scotch tape was all it took.   
Seto Kaiba was not stupid. You did not become the CEO of a major corporation by being stupid. He had watched movies, though Mokuba had had to shove him into some of them. He had read books.   
And in the movies, whenever someone had a near-omnipotent power that could take over the world, that power would generally turn on them. _This isn't a movie_, he argued with himself, but sometimes with all the corporate shenanigans and virtual reality and Egyptian mythology running together and all seeming to revolve around Kaiba Corp. (but then again, perhaps from another perspective it revolved around something or someone else, say, Yugi Motou), it definitely seemed like a movie.   
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. He'd read that somewhere.   
There was a shredder in the computer room. He turned it on, then held the card over it. He looked at it again; then he switched off the shredder (just for now, he told himself) and scanned an image of the card into the computer. Several images, in fact.   
Then he looked up a name in the phone book and made a call.   
"Hello, Ishtar residence."   
"Isis."   
"Seto Kaiba. What is so urgent that you must contact me at my house?"   
"Did that Millennium contraption of yours predict that at roughly seven PM Pacific Standard Time I will be shredding Obelisk the Tormentor into unrecognizable strips?"   
"…"   
"Well, did it?"   
"… no, it did not. Why do you intend to do such a thing?"   
"Because I did just fine without it, that's why. Unless you want to come over and take it off my hands."   
"… at seven, you said?"   
"Exactly. Be there." He hung up before she could have replied and placed Obelisk in one of those sleeves people used to keep rare cards that they didn't intend to duel with. Then he waited. He didn't wait long.   
Several minutes before the set time, a taxi approached the Kaiba house. Seto sent a command to open the gates; the taxi drove through them when they were half-open. Isis Ishtar got out and ran the last twenty feet or so to the front doors; Seto took the opportunity to run to them as well after sending another command, this time to open the doors.   
She was waiting for him. He pressed Obelisk the Tormentor into her hand, then added fifty dollars for the taxi fare. She lifted an eyebrow. "Is this your idea of a joke?"   
"I never joke."   
Isis frowned at the card. "I did not know you were one to give up so much power."   
Seto managed a smile. "Do some research. Don't you know the attack power of a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon?"   
She got his point; without another word, she ran back to the taxi, holding Obelisk close to her like she was a child and it was her imaginary friend. Seto watched her climb in and watched the taxi go back into the street. He watched the lights from it dwindle and finally disappear when it went around a corner before he closed the gates and the doors. 

*** 

At precisely seven o'clock, it was officially illegal for Zachary Roba, Jr., to continue work. However, he bent the law in order to finish ringing up the last customer's purchase. Once that was carried out, Mai turned to him and said, "So, you want a ride?" He accepted.   
Several minutes later, they were in the elevator, on their way to the twenty-first floor.   
A minute or two after that, he opened the door and started.   
The stranger regarded him with a deadpan expression. "Do you use the name of Esper Roba?" He continued without waiting for Esper's reply. "My name is Shadi, and I must warn you of something." 

*** 

Joey made a collect call in order to assure Yugi that yes, Jade was fine, and would it be all right if he stayed for the night? Yugi was very obliging. After that, a long time passed and then the phone rang. Joey grabbed it; it was Tristan.   
"So, Joey, you done it yet?"   
"Tristan?"   
"Yeah?"   
"Shut up."   
"Gee, lighten up already!" He could see the head shaking in amusement. "Just go have some fun, okay?"   
Jade made a motion; the phone was promptly handed over. "Hello, guy-with-Lava-Battleguard. Yeah, it's me. All right, Tristan then. No, he didn't." Pause; he sighed. "Did you see me with the Dragon Nails? Okay, how thick do you think your skin is? Okay, long do you think those claws are?" Long pause. "I'm glad we understand. Goodbye." He hung up, then turned to Joey, in hysterics on the floor. Jade grinned, jumped on top of him, and began to tickle mercilessly.   
"Hey! That's- no fair!" Joey managed as he struggled into a half-sitting position, then degenerated into crazy laughter as he succumbed to the tickles. "No fair- no fair! Damn you!" More laughter. "I'm gonna- break my neck!" A chance kick freed his arms. "I'll show you what tickling's all about!"   
With that, the tables were turned on Jade, who also began to laugh, even harder than Joey had; they went completely down in a tangle of arms and legs and faces and fingers searching for just the right spots.   
Geoffrey, Sandy, and Brendan were treated to a good three hundred seconds of the tickling war before they finally pulled away from one another, gasping with leftover laughter.   
"Oh god," said Joey, "that was fun. Let's never, ever do it again."   
"I second that," Jade managed, before he relapsed into another fit. 

*** 

Shadi had gone after repeated assurances that Esper would watch his back, be careful, et cetera. And Esper could tell he wasn't convinced.   
He locked the doors and went to sleep early; his dreams were troubled. 

*** 

After the incident, Haku approached Ryuunosuke and demanded a match. This time, chess. "You know how to do it, right?"   
When Haku and Chihiro were being taught the basics, he had watched, listened, learned. Just in case. "… yes. A little bit."   
"Then in the name of Tiamat, do it!"   
A summary: Ryuunosuke proceeded to soundly thrash Haku in two out of five games. One of the remaining three was a long, ferocious battle that still ended with Ryuunosuke saying, "checkmate." Another one was a draw, and the one loss happened to be the first game.   
"I thought," said Haku in the middle of the third game, "you hated challenges."   
Ryuunosuke looked straight at him for the first time since he-didn't-know-how-long. "Some things, even if you hate them, it helps if you know how to do them." Haku nodded as if Ryuunosuke had just stated the meaning of life.   
Mokuba went to bed at nine. Around ten, in the early stages of the fourth game, Chihiro and Sapphire and Seto Kaiba all retired as well (Chihiro asked everyone to keep out of her room; they knew it was not a request). 

*** 

"You can have the bed," said Chihiro. Cassiel's objections were cut off with a motion of her hand. "You're a guest here. Guests have priority. And I did think it was a little too soft, anyway."   
He called Aaron to tell him why he wasn't returning for now (Aaron sounded very knowledgeable about where Cassiel had gone, and kept on hinting at something. Cassiel hadn't thought the difference in knowledge between seventeen and twenty was so large) and proceeded to sleep extremely well; for once he had no nightmares. 

*** 

At the end of the fifth game, it was perhaps an hour after everyone else had gone (Neither one of them seemed inclined to look at a clock). Ryuunosuke yawned in spite of himself as he slid his bishop diagonally and knocked over Haku's king.   
"Are you all right?"   
"I'm all right." Judging from Haku's expression, that wasn't what he had wanted to hear. "Really, I am."   
"I would be a bit more inclined to believe that," said Haku, "if I hadn't heard it so many times. I need to talk to you."   
"What were we doing for the past hour?" Ryuunosuke would have tried very hard to make his tongue bleed if he had made that statement earlier. But somehow he couldn't look at Haku the same way once he had defeated the latter (of course he had gotten all the imitations of Exodia when they had been playing Master, but that wasn't the same thing).   
"This time it's talking about something different. I promise in the name of Tiamat that nothing will take place that would offend even Michael Gaia and his nonexistent deity." Ryuunosuke had to smile at that. Haku still had a modicum of respect for Gaia, even if the latter now refused to refer to him by name (after all, who had taught Haku chess? Michael Gaia), but that didn't keep him from poking fun at the Fierce Knight's religious beliefs.   
Haku's room was large but generally empty. What was space, Ryuunosuke wondered, without something to fill it with? Due to lack of other convenient articles of furniture, they both ended up seated on the bed.   
"You know," said Haku, "how Sapphire is now. And you know we all said it was because of Pegasus and that stupid card." Ryuunosuke nodded. "Now… I'm not so sure about that."   
"How do you mean?"   
He frowned. "Ryuu-chan, promise you won't laugh." The promise was duly made. "I think a lot of it was because of me."   
"Why," said Ryuunosuke, "would I laugh at that?"   
"Do you remember Sapphire's best friend?"   
"Alexander Sang?"   
"Yes, that's him."   
"Are they still friends?"   
"… I don't think so."   
"Do you remember I spoke to Black Jade like he was an oversized Kuriboh? You know what I thought about Kuriboh back then, don't you?" It wasn't a question proper- the answer was already known, and as such, he didn't wait for it to be articulated. "Do you know what Jane would say about that? She'd say I was acting like a donkey."   
No pause for exclamations of incredulity considering his hypothesizing about the reaction of a machine; Ryuunosuke, too, had experienced Jane's sentience and Haku knew it and went on. "And Ryuu-chan, I was. I really was." Ryuunosuke started to say that no, he was not, but thought better of it. Haku just wanted to be heard; he wasn't looking for false assurances. "So you see, Pegasus didn't have anything to do with it. It was me."   
"Haku," said Ryuunosuke, "you told me not to blame myself for everything. So why do you do it to yourself, if I'm not to?"   
Pause, then laughter. "You're right, Ryuu-chan. But none of that was your fault. You have to admit some of it was my fault."   
"Maybe some, but definitely not all of it. _You_ didn't make that card."   
"I know." Ryuunosuke yawned again, quite unintentionally. "I think it is time this discussion ended, don't you?" A nod. "Good night." 


	13. Dragon's Blessing

AUTHOR'S NOTES: OK, some fanservice in this chapter pertaining to Weevil Underwood- no, he doesn't go to the Shadow Realm, but he does get a good scare. Yep, Kaiba gave Isis the real deal. Why would he give her a fake? Oh, and on the Giltia issue- the D could also be interpreted as "Dragon," as in Giltia the Dragon Knight. I guess that's kind of appropriate for this story, since he's Dar's friend.   
Oh, and the apostrophes in this chapter may be messed up. 

WARNINGS: Dragon necrotomy (messing around with dead bodies), language, threatened trips to Anubis, and an off-screen car accident. 

Thirteen: Dragon's Blessing Several of the bones that made up Ryuunosuke's armor had originally resided in the skeleton of the dragon Corundum Snow, father of a daughter and three sons, all of whom had inherited his blue eyes; Ryuunosuke was not aware of this. Only a few of them, of course- there had to be something to be buried, after all. The rest of it was taken from various animals and warped to fit.   
Corundum had chosen Ryuunosuke to be their companion before Sapphire was even born. Disease (dragons generally had, of course, stronger constitutions, but the ones that did get through were all the more deadly) had claimed him soon afterward; that had been his last request. Their mother had been initially disgusted at the suggestion, but he had been insistent. It was a kind of posthumous blessing, actually, to give a human the privilege of donning armor made from such a thing (they had had this explained to them by their mother later; they were far too young to comprehend it at the time; they only knew that it was what their father wanted). Their father had been on very good terms with Ryuunosuke's parents, and this was their reward.   
Besides, didn't some humans treasure dragon bones? At least what they thought were dragon bones?   
But she had made them promise to never tell Ryuunosuke himself what the armor was composed of- humans tended to be very squeamish about that sort of thing. They would condemn doing such a thing to their own parents; what, then, would their reaction be to this?   
Now even Haku couldn't remember which bones they were.   
Therefore, he took special care with each section of the armor as he slid it on, making sure not to wind up with it on backwards. This experiment had enough potential problems without the ones that could be caused by that particular slip-up.   
After Haku was more or less certain about the proper arrangements of the sections of armor, he leaned over, worked his hands into the proper position, and straightened up, with the desired results.   
Fact: People looked different when they were sleeping; their sleeping expression depended on whether their dreams were good ones or nightmares. When Haku had checked on Sapphire on the way over, he had, judging from his face, been having one of the former (for once). The same went for Ryuunosuke. Haku couldn't recall a time since Before when he had seen Ryuunosuke smile like the way he was currently; this one wasn't an ill-constructed barrier to conceal anxiety. This was not in the same category as the expression Pharaoh Yami had displayed whenever he won a Game (sometimes during those Games, Haku recalled, he had supported the Pharaoh's opponent simply because they needed it more than the Pharaoh ever could). It was the smile of someone convinced that everything's-all-right-at-least-for-now.   
Haku wished he could smile like that. Maybe in his dreams.   
It was back to his bedroom. Ryuunosuke went under the blanket, which was then pulled up to his chin. Haku promptly retreated and hoped that the armor would not induce a stiff neck or a similar affliction; getting Ryuunosuke back in the armor was the only way he could think of to convince himself that his intentions were clean. And even then he didn't quite buy his own argument.   
"At least," he muttered as he threw himself onto another bed, "I can't ***** him when he's got it on." 

*** 

Cassiel thought at the moment of impact that he had fallen off a tower; logic soon revealed that he'd simply fallen out of the bed. He relaxed until he realized what- or, rather, who- he'd fallen on top of.   
Cassiel yelped and scrambled away; his back hit the bed. Chihiro frowned slightly and opened her eyes. "Well," she said, "good morning."   
He had to swallow before replying. "I apologize."   
"It's all right," she said. "Accidents will happen." And she smiled; Cassiel suspected she had wanted this particular accident. "I hope you don't mind seeing him again; I'm sure this racket has gotten him up." As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. He was somewhat surprised by this; Chihiro's Master hadn't seemed like a person who would knock on a door.   
Apparently Chihiro was just as surprised. "Yes?" she called. "Who's there?"   
If Cassiel hadn't sensed a general absence of magic around Chihiro's Master he would have sworn it was some kind of illusion, because logically speaking there was just no way the same person that he had spoken to on Monday.   
"I'm sorry to interrupt," said this person, "but, Chihiro, you could have notified me of this."   
"I didn't think," said Chihiro, "that you'd want to be notified."   
"Guilty as charged." The smile looked like it hadn't been used in a while. "And you are… Cassiel, correct?" Cassiel nodded. "I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Seto Kaiba."   
Cassiel began looking doubly hard for magic traces. 

*** 

Ryuunosuke was completely yanked from his dreams (they were good ones) at the sound. His eyes were shut, but even then he could sense an aberration. His neck was stiff, and the bed didn't feel the same. This was because, he discovered when he opened his eyes, it wasn't the same bed. His vague suspicions were confirmed when he saw the room it was placed in- Haku's room.   
So where was Haku, then?   
Funny- he certainly hadn't gone to sleep wearing his armor, but he was wearing it now, as well as the cloak, which was now somewhat wrinkled due to his sleeping on it. He decided to investigate this phenomenon later, left the room and looked up and down the hall. It was quite early; he heard nothing but the murmur of voices from Chihiro's room. He recognized all three of those voices; none of them belonged to Haku. In fact, there was no sign of Haku whatsoever.   
Unless…   
He had shared the room with Sapphire the first night, the night they had all discovered how loudly Chihiro and Haku's brother could scream when he was sleeping. Ryuunosuke could not recall any specific details of that night, but he did get a general feeling from the events. And that was the feeling of being very, very tired. Now he had it all to himself; not that it mattered much.   
The door was shut; he opened it after a minute of standing in front of it imagining what things he might see inside that he wasn't meant to see. Then he put a hand on the doorknob, twisted it, and pushed- the action itself was quite easy.   
Haku hadn't bothered with blankets-or else he had thrown them all off in his sleep. They were all in a pile on the floor, beside the bed. He appeared to have just gone onto it without shedding anything; or maybe, Ryuunosuke thought, he had and it had been put back for the same reason Ryuunosuke's armor had been put back.   
In duels, in their natural shapes, the Snow siblings were indistinguishable from one another. But in their human forms you'd have to be a fool to not be able to tell them apart. Haku threw arms and legs parallel and stretched like a strange variety of cat, then rolled onto his back, yawned, reached to his face and brushed away a few stray strands of white hair. Ryuunosuke watched all of this with a vaguely guilty feeling while rubbing the back of his neck.   
Haku tilted his head and looked straight at him. "How can you stand sleeping on this thing? I've known of rocks that were softer! I hope you didn't mind my doing that," he added quickly. "I didn't want you to believe something… unnatural happened."   
Ryuunosuke was indignant at the concept of Haku ever doing something unnatural. "I'd never think such a thing!"   
"Just in case, you understand." Haku pushed himself off the bed; one of his feet landed sideways and he cursed, bending down to rub his ankle. "Did you sleep all right?" Ryuunosuke nodded. "At least you did. You did, right?" This last question sounded like he was asking for approval; Ryuunosuke had often used that tone himself and it was strange to hear it from Haku.   
Ryuunosuke nodded again. Of course, his neck was still stiff, but it was the thought that counted, after all. "Yes, I did." 

*** 

Dar woke up quite early and therefore had the tacit privilege of preparing breakfast for five (Dar, Rex, Ran, Sora, and Scale) afterward hauling Rex out of bed (not to mention reminding him to wear his hat). After some muttered protest when still half-asleep, Rex brightened considerably when he recalled the event they had scheduled for that day. His general aura of perkiness rivaled that of Scale, who took every opportunity to remind them that the Millennium Scales would in all likelihood be used before Friday had ended.   
Breakfast was fine, though Dar had put far too much pepper and oregano in the scrambled eggs, and Ran and Sora spent the time sulking because the household had run out of turkey slices, and Scale accidentally-on-purpose spilled cranberry-raspberry juice all over the kitchen floor, creating a feast for the ants.   
Ran and Sora went back in their cards, Rex went to school, taking the deck and the Scales with him, and Dar paid a visit to the Turtle Game Shop.   
He had a brief conversation with Aaron the cousin of the ever-so-famous Gabriel, who had apparently asked to help with the store so he could get spending money. "Miriam wanted to do it," he said, "but she looks too young. People would wonder. Stop by later, all right?"   
Dar paid another visit to the library; there were pay phones in front of the doors, and he used a few quarters to call the Valentine apartment in Lantern on the off chance that Helen or maybe one of her sisters might answer. He got the answering machine and hung up. And he felt he had already gutted the library of anything he might want to know.   
So he took a walk. He walked around Battle City, which was generally dormant, as its most eager participants were required to attend school. And on the way he wondered exactly where that locator card could have got to.   
_ Maybe_, Dar speculated, _he tripped, and it fell down a storm drain. Maybe he dueled someone else and lost it then, only I don't remember, and I don't think he lost any 'sides Jinzo._   
_ Or maybe he does have it. Maybe he really did have a crisis of conscience._   
The knight sounded distinctly irritated. _Dragon, make up your mind! First you would willingly make him walk to your Anubis or Hell or whatever you want to call it, then you shudder at the thought of harming even a single hair on his head. At least I made clear decisions!_   
_ I'd rather not make a clear decision to go around killing people._   
_ You make it sound like it was completely random! They deserved it!_   
_ Yes, that's true, and to the right we see Michael Gaia having a civilized conversation with Hikari Kenshin…_

*** 

"Oh, Raptor…"   
Rex's response had been rehearsed mentally ever since he noticed Weevil Underwood's interest in the Scales he had been carrying slung over his shoulder or had masking-taped to his backpack throughout the school day. "Yeah, what, Underwood?"   
Weevil had to sprint to catch up with Rex's stride homeward. "That's a very interesting set of scales you've got there. Are they real gold?"   
_ Who is this moron? And why are you putting up with him?_   
Rex let out the mental equivalent of a sigh. _Because you can get kicked out of school for clobbering people, that's why._   
_ And what's so bad about that? It's a small price to pay to get rid of the annoying little beetle._   
_ Have you been reading my mind?_   
_ None of your business._   
"Maybe some of it," Rex answered. "Why do you ask?"   
"It's so shiny… may I hold it?"   
_ Exactly which institution of deception did this little beetle learn his craft from? Even the wimp in the Ankh could see through that! Come on, do as the little beetle says and hand me over!_   
"I don't know about that." _There is no way I am going to let you kill him! At least not in broad daylight._   
_ That was so funny I forgot to laugh. Ha, ha, ha. There. Now do it!_   
_ You don't think anyone will notice if an Egyptian god shows up and drags Weevil to hell?_   
_ Why should I care who will notice?_   
"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Weevil was looking even more closely at the Scales now; they had gone a considerable way during the conversation. Rex unlocked the door and walked in, stepping on some of the ants that had taken up residence in the kitchen; Weevil dashed in before he could shut it again. "Raptor, you know you want to. Come on, just for a min-" The Scales glowed. "Yah!"   
Scale smirked, in his glory. "You're not going to go to Anubis just yet, you little beetle. But in the meantime-" Any punishment Scale would have inflicted was cut short by Weevil Underwood screaming and running out the still-open door.   
After Dar got back, the doorbell rang. Rex answered the door to see a neighbor, making sure his shoelaces were crossed. "Oh, it's nothing. It's just that there was a bit of an ant problem in the kitchen. Some of them ran onto his shoe. Really, it was nothing." 

*** 

Hours of practice with Jane starting Friday morning (Chihiro, of course, had been exasperated by his monopoly, but Haku had countered by bringing up her own monopoly that Tuesday; last time he checked she was making do with a laptop) had paid off. The chess games with Ryuunosuke that continued that afternoon were now more or less evenly matched; and it was during the third of these games, when they seemed to be exactly mirroring each other's movements, that the jokes started.   
Ryuunosuke had started it, making a crack about Obelisk the Tormentor being only a glorified rock tower with delusions of grandeur- he confessed he had gotten the idea from a dictionary definition. Haku had laughed so hard that he had nearly fallen out of his chair, and Sapphire had come in and asked if he had turned into a Toon.   
"Maybe," said Haku. "Do my eyes look very big to you?" Sapphire had left the room laughing as well. Later he heard Seto and Mokuba laughing as well; apparently Sapphire had relayed them the joke.   
Haku responded with a somewhat limp one he had gotten while talking to Jane. Ryuunosuke had laughed at that one, so hard he really had fallen out of the chair. And the games continued.   
Nobody bothered to count the wins and losses; Haku would have counted the laughter, but there was too much of it. It was a very, very good afternoon for laughter. 

*** 

"Rex?"   
"Yeah, Dar?"   
Dar looked at the other people on the bus, leaned close and whispered into Rex's ear; he had to lean down a bit to accomplish this. "I'd rather not kill anyone for a while. How about you?"   
Rex shifted in his seat and whispered back. "Yeah, homicide isn't exactly a happy memory I want when I'm old and wrinkled. Got any better ideas?"   
"I think it might be a better idea…"   
"Then let's hear it." 

*** 

Esper was caught off-guard by teachers' questions several time during the day; he managed to get out of most of the encounters relatively unscathed. In mathematics, however, nearly the entire class cracked up or was obviously trying hard not to crack up- the teacher was in the latter group. By the time of the last bell he was pretty sure this ranked right up with the day Kyo was born as one of the worst days in his life.   
And now on top of everything there was a homicidal set of scales to worry about- someone who could drop into the floor (not to mention make said floor swirl at point of exit and go completely normal afterwards) should probably be believed, even if his name sounded like "Shoddy." He reflected that "Attack of the Killer Scales" would be a feasible title for a bad horror movie. Hey, it couldn't be any worse than "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."   
He was not ambushed by any killer scales on the way home. It didn't happen when he reached home, or when he was rushing through his homework. He estimated he had made several dozen careless errors in math, and he was sure he had misspelled something in the rough draft of his essay. His distraction was partly due to this, partly due to Kyo deciding now would be a good time to have a crying fit, and partly due to his watching the door and waiting for Dar DelaSangre to walk in.   
He arrived at the store several minutes early and performed his job with only slightly more attention that he had paid to academics. Esper knew his performance was sub-par, but it was one thing to tell himself to do better and quite another thing to actually do better. But, hey, at least he wasn't fired.   
Val gave him another ride, dropping him off at the apartment building and zooming off to do some shopping. He walked to the elevator and reached for the button for the twenty-first floor. Another hand darted in front of his and pushed it first.   
The doors slid shut before Esper could leave- he almost ran right into the doors. He pressed the open button, but the elevator was already on its way up. He then turned his attention to the other two people in the elevator.   
As he watched, it became three people.   
"Roba," said Rex Raptor, "I think you know what this is about, right?"   
Esper decided to fall back on an old strategy- false bravado. "Yeah, I think I know. What about it?"   
Despite Shadi's warnings, he hadn't really expected Rex to take a set of scales with a weird eye on them and hold them out with as much confidence as if he had a loaded machine gun. "Okay. You have some stuff that's mine. And I'm sure you know what."   
"Get it over with already!" the weird guy with the turban who looked just a bit like Shadi yelled.   
"Shut up," said Dar. "You might get your turn later."   
"_Might_? Why you-"   
The doors slid open and Esper ran out; he knew they were following. "Just a minute. I'll get it, okay? Keep your shirt on!"   
"Don't forget," Dar yelled, "the locator card."   
Esper had opened the apartment door by the time he heard this; he tripped over the threshold and landed in a heap on the floor. He gave the door a shove and ran for the bedroom, ignoring his brothers' nervous queries; he never heard the door slam.   
He grabbed the card for Serpent Night Dragon, then proceeded to reach under the mattress. His fingers scrabbled around under it, encountering only fugitive, somewhat flattened dust bunnies. Esper cursed and shoved his head and shoulders underneath as well. The mattress pressed down on him; he felt like he was going to suffocate, the dust bunnies were smearing all over him, and all the while his mind was counting off the seconds.   
_ There!_   
Esper grabbed the locator card, slid out, and ran out of the bedroom again. He probably looked like hell froze over and reheated and he didn't care at all. Danny and Charlie followed him, demanding to know what was going on. He deflected their queries with, "I'll explain later."   
It was only then that a thought managed to shove itself out of the crowd and before him- how, just how, had they known he still had a locator card? 

*** 

Scale and the knight were going to be mightily ticked off, Dar knew, but they'd just have to live with it.   
_ If I ever have to use that thing or get Rex to_, he decided,_ I'll try and do it when we're really old, so we won't have to remember it for so long_.   
He remembered that after the official lesson they'd all been asking Gabriel for coherent answers to the questions they had not been given a chance to ask, and despite his protests that he was not qualified, he granted their request. "If this is true, and a soul fails the test," Geoffrey had asked, "what is supposed to happen to it, exactly? I mean, if it is true?"   
Gabriel had contemplated this. "This is true, Geoffrey," he began, with a tone of near-absolute conviction. "There is no 'if.' And to answer your question, it is not. It simply is not. Everything a failed soul was or could have been ceases to exist." He sounded sad about it, even though he was speaking of people who evidently deserved it.   
That night Dar had dreamed about what it was like to cease to exist. It wasn't a pleasant dream by any definition; the next morning everyone who shared sleeping quarters with him had been severely annoyed with him for making such a tremendous noise. Job had said that the Pharaoh himself had come running that night, thinking some catastrophe had befallen his interests.   
Dar had decided that he didn't want to be directly responsible for everything anyone was or could have been ceasing to exist.   
He'd talked to Rex about this; Rex had shared his concern. They'd come up with a new Plan A- get Esper Roba to hand over Dar's card and the locator card, possibly via use of the Scales as intimidation. Actually using the Scales, for their intended purpose, would be relegated to Plan B.   
They had discussed all the various rules of playing Mao (they even made some up on the spot) in loud voices for the rest of the ride to keep Scale from catching on.   
And Plan A had worked out just fine, thank you very much.   
Rex took the cards without saying thank you- "thank you" was not appropriate in this situation. Does a judge thank a criminal for paying a fine? Neither, then, should Rex Raptor thank Esper Roba for returning what was rightfully his all along.   
Scale looked like he was about to let loose a volley of profanity. Dar reached into his pockets, felt the remaining coins, and wondered how much chocolate he could buy with it, as well as how much would be necessary in order to mollify Scale.   
Tom poked his head out. "Excuse me, but Dar, are you going already?" 

*** 

Esper wasn't sure exactly how they had all ended up caring about a card initially viewed as a walking coaster. But they did. That was the important thing.   
"Esper," said Tommy, "is he coming back? Ever?"   
Esper looked from the window and saw a lone figure, Rex Raptor in all likelihood, hardly more than a spot from where he was, walking toward the bus stop. "Tom," he said, "remember you asked if Mom would ever come back?"   
"But Dar isn't dead! How come he left? He was really nice, he wasn't evil at all!"   
"Come off it, Tom," said Danny, "you're just upset 'cause you won't get free burgers anymore."   
_ Is that how he did it? He bought our hearts and souls with hamburgers? Jesus T. Christ…_

*** 

"-so, see, when ya divide or multiply by a minus number," Jade finished, "ya oughta flip the thingy."   
Joey nodded, comprehending. "Gee, I wish they'd get teachers that can really teach stuff like how ya just did."   
Jade colored and laughed while holding a hand behind his head. "Well, they have to do it with a lot more people. It's got to be harder for them."   
"Ya think that's why they all seem to be crabby?"   
"Well, I haven't met them. I wouldn't know. But I guess it could be like that, yeah."   
Joey finished the rest of the homework in a short time. Then he made a call. "Hello, Yuge? Is it okay if I battle ya tomorrow at eight?" 

*** 

Cassiel arrived back at the shop and was immediately greeted. Aaron made some more hints Cassiel didn't quite understand, but he understood enough of it to make him redden and deny it. Miriam showed him her newest trick, making interior fireworks (it was cut short by Pharaoh Yami sticking his head in and shouting, "STOP THAT IMMEDIATELY!"). Gabriel was very polite as always and asked him to help plan Geoffrey's next lesson (he did help). But nobody asked if he wanted to stay the night; it was a given that he would not.   
When it was time to perform the transport ritual, Aaron said, "Remember to have fun with the lady dragon."   
Ailill looked up from the spelling lesson and brushed back some of the yellow hair that had fallen in his face. "I'm assuming you don't mean Tani."   
Gabriel looked up from writing out some magical formula or another with an expression of mild surprise. "Ah. You're staying with Chihiro Snow?" Cassiel nodded, vaguely expecting a rebuke of some kind. "That's good."   
Ailill nodded. "She's certainly smart. How many Ss in 'occasion' again?"   
"Just one, Lill. And Gaia certainly knows," said Tani, "she plays his game very well. She defeated him all the time Before."   
Hikari laughed. "Not that he'll admit it."   
"Pardon me for my ignorance," said Yami in a tone that negated the humility of his words, "but who is Chihiro Snow?" They had obviously been hoping he wouldn't ask that question; everyone seemed to spontaneously return to what they had been doing previously with no indication that their words had ever been spoken. Yami was not at all pleased by this; annoyance clouded his face. "Answer me!"   
Ailill looked up from the spelling lesson with an equally annoyed expression. "Attribute: Light. Level: Seven. Type: Dragon."   
Silence. "I… see…"   
Cassiel took his leave before things could start plunging downhill. 

*** 

Esper looked through the window at an upward angle to see the sky above the buildings. He couldn't see any stars. Once, a year or two previous, he had had to do a science project involving observation of stars. It was the one science project he had failed that year, because he hadn't seen any stars three nights in a row.   
He wasn't quite sure why he'd kept the locator card. It just didn't seem right to use it, somehow. So he had stuck it under the mattress, waited for himself to come to his senses and go out into Battle City once more.   
No chance of that happening now. No chance of it happening ever.   
Being morally perfect was harder than it sounded. Oh sure, you could try to be perfect; just about everyone had the right to try. You could be the junior high equivalent of valedictorian, ace your drama class, have the exact lines required to send the bullies who called you a green-haired freak running for cover …   
You could go to school a week after your life blew up as if nothing happened. You could know in your heart that this wasn't how it should be, that you should have said something, but not say a word. You could fake signatures on your brothers' report cards. You could not get an invitation to Duelist Kingdom while all the other district champions did and wonder if Maximilian Pegasus was the psychic you pretended to be. You could explain it all to yourself by saying you were doing what was right in a higher sense- weren't your brothers more important than any tournament rules could ever be?   
The view from the outside was different from the view on the inside, that was for sure.   
The phone began to wail. He grabbed it. "Hello?"   
"Zachary Roba!"   
"Um… Ms. Malloy?"   
"Tell me, what stunt have you been pulling?"   
"Wha-"   
"The police just called. Your father was hit by a car."   
"What the-!"   
"He's alive, Zachary. But he was hit in Oregon. You understand that's quite a long way from here. Do you have an explanation?"   
"Not exactly, Ms. Malloy, no…" Esper dropped the phone, then out of the sense of thrift he had developed out of necessity, quickly picked it up and replaced it.   
_ All for nothing… all for nothing…_   
He locked the door, perched himself on the kitchen counter, and waited for someone to arrive.   
Charlie approached him. "Esper? What just happened?"   
Esper focused on his shoes. "Dad got hit by a car."   
"But that means…"   
A nod. "Yeah. Enjoy this while it lasts, okay?" 

*** 

"I have a claim on the bed tonight," said Jade. "Ya got that?"   
"Sure I've got it," said Sandy. "Which one?"   
Geoffrey looked up from picking bits of plaster off his spear, which had become embedded in the wall due to a practical joke. "Alexander, sometimes I think you're too precocious for your own good."   
"I'm very-"   
"Old for your age. I know," Jade finished the sentence. "But still, I'm not sure ya oughta know so much. I'm pretty sure you should learn something every day, something like that. Sorry about that," he added at Joey's horrified expression.   
Joey smiled. "Hey, if you're gonna teach me, I'm ready."   
Sandy clapped hands once; the sound was enough to get everyone's attention. "Well? Which one?" It was obvious he already knew what the answer would be. 

*** 

"'Night, Dar."   
"'Night, Rex."   
Rex made his way to the light switch and flipped it off, then started back. He cursed as he fell over something soft, hastily apologized to Sora (or maybe it was Ran), then got into bed. He stared at the ceiling for a minute.   
Then he ran for the switch, avoiding Ran and Sora this time, flicked it back on, apologized to the others, and got his deck. He also got the cards he hadn't put in his deck because he hadn't seen the point (they were primarily Magic and Trap cards).   
Then he made his way to the computer room, muted the volume, called up a Duel Monsters fan site, and began doing some heavy-duty alteration of his deck.   



	14. A time that is almost perfect for an end...

AUTHOR'S NOTES: First, congrats to Indigo Tantarian, who has beaten Alex Warlorn for first review for Chapter Thirteen.   
This chapter is probably sub-par. Sorry. Feel free to be merciless (as long as it makes sense), but please, review.   
And no, I haven't got a clue why Chapter Thirteen turned out the way it did. 

Fourteen: A time that is almost perfect for an ending   
November 8, 2003 "Serpent Night Dragon," Rex muttered. "Megazowler. De-Spell. Raise Body Heat. Dragon Nails. Dragon Treasure. Sword of Deep Seated-WHAT?" Pause, then a sigh as he passed the card to his other hand. "I just hope nobody's going to break down laughing if I have to play it. Two-Headed King Rex…" The clock announced the time to be 5:21 AM.   
Two minutes afterward, he put his deck on the dresser and took a well-earned nap on the edge of the bed. 

*** 

Joey ate an entire canister of raisins and three bowls of Cheerios while watching the clock. He even tried a few pickled plums he had bought to see if they would affect his father's problem any (they hadn't). He then moved on to the refrigerator, finishing off both the milk and the orange juice (not to mention a yogurt container that was only a day past the expiration date), then smearing liberal amounts of butter on a piece of bread the size of his palm. That was followed by a tremendous omelet- at least he only ate half of that, saving the rest for Jade.   
Now that he had ingested about twice the recommended amount of cholesterol and more-or-less assured an eventual heart attack, he sprawled out on the couch and began drifting downward to sleep, going over dueling strategies even as his eyes shut.   
Swordsman of Landstar with Shield and Sword. Panther Warrior with Scapegoats. Red Eyes Black Dragon with Dragon Nails… 

*** 

The clock started playing digitized supposed-to-be-perky-but-actually-incredibly-annoying tones intended to wake anyone up. He promptly woke up, then picked it up and chucked it across the room; it slammed into the door of his closet and fell straight down from there. Rex suspected that the batteries had been knocked out by the impact. Judging by the alarm, it was now seven AM.   
He flipped himself out of the bed, this time stepping on Dar's hair. After yet another "sorry" Rex proceeded to grab a pair of socks, answer nature's call, brush his teeth, and nearly knock the floss dispenser into the (thankfully flushed) toilet. He then went to the kitchen, where he carried out experiments involving Parmesan cheese, pepper, and buttered toast. He then began another series of experiments, aided by Dar, involving fast-food restaurant straws and cranberry-raspberry juice; this series was cut short by his parents' interference.   
At ten minutes to eight Rex and Dar left the house and ventured into Battle City once more. 

*** 

Joey introduced him to those who asked as Jay Black, his friend who had been overseas for quite a while. Some people inquired as to where overseas he had been. Jade said quite calmly that he had been to China, and proceeded to state some phrases that nobody could understand. "Was that Chinese?" Joey asked him when he was fairly sure there was no one close by.   
"I think so," said Jade. "It's just a really old kind, is all."   
They had arranged to duel in front of the Game Shop, eight sharp. Joey arrived a half-hour early and spent forty minutes staring at his watch before the door opened.   
"Sorry about that," said Yugi, "but he had to go tell off Michael and Hikari again. At least they didn't find the knives." The Puzzle glowed. "Are you ready?"   
Joey nodded and took several steps backward, then held out his arm. The projectors launched and the duel began. 

*** 

"Aaron said to stop by," said Dar. "And maybe there'll be something you want there. I know they sell chocolate."   
Rex stopped and blinked. "Why would a game store sell that?"   
"Why does the library have a selling machine out front when they don't allow the things they sell inside the library?" Dar countered. "To make money, why else?"   
"I just hope they've got a good deal on it."   
"The feeling is mutual." 

*** 

Shadi decided, given Scale's past history, it was high time to do another check. His first stop- the Roba apartment. He performed the transport ritual and rose up in an empty room.   
_ Shadi, I don't like how this looks…_   
He went through the other rooms and then agreed with Ankh. Any personal effects of the brothers had gone. There was not a single toy or book or anything but furniture. 

*** 

"Hello. Are you Rex Raptor?"   
Rex nodded. "Yeah. Who're you?"   
"Chihiro Snow."   
"You a Kaiba fan?"   
Her eyebrow lifted. "Now why would you think that?"   
"You're wearing the same kind of coat."   
"Indeed, I am." She turned to Dar. "Job DelaSangre's cousin?"   
"Yeah, that would be me."   
"Does he know?"   
"Of course he knows."   
"All right then," said Chihiro, "tell him who we are." 

*** 

"The Roba brothers?" Isis contemplated this for a moment. "The visions are blurry, but I believe someone noticed they were living without any adults. The details should appear in tomorrow's newspaper if you wish to know them." 

*** 

"Joey," said Yami, "I've never seen you do this well since Duelist Kingdom."   
Joey drew and smiled. "Well, of course ya haven't. I haven't had a reason to do this well since Duelist Kingdom. I sacrifice a Scapegoat! Panther Warrior, attack Stone Soldier!" 

*** 

"Cassiel's relatives live there," said Chihiro. "Also, a battle was reported, and I wanted to see for myself."   
"It's right there," said Dar, and pointed.   
"I play one card face down and Kuriboh, in defense mode!"   
"Oh, I see what you're up to, Yuge! You're going to multiply him so I can't hit your Life Points!"   
Yami groaned. "Why did I ever let you watch me duel Kaiba? Anyway, I play Multiply…"   
"DAR!" Jade yelled. "Dar, you got back, didn'tcha? Don't worry, it wasn't like _that_," he added in Joey's direction.   
Joey colored and nodded. "I play Fissure!"   
"All right then," said Yami, his confident expression returned full force, "that destroys the monster with the lowest attack power. Their attack powers are all equal. Pick one." Now it was Joey's turn to groan.   
Chihiro marched up to the door of the shop and entered. "Solomon Motou?" she called. "I must ask you about something!" 

*** 

The phone rang.   
"Hello?"   
"This is Zachary Roba. I need to talk to Rex Raptor."   
"He's not here right now. Would you like to leave a message?"   
_ Beep._

*** 

After some words exchanged with Aaron, Scale was provided with a complimentary bulk box of chocolate in exchange for a promise to stay out of the shop. So far he was keeping the promise.   
Dar and Job went off to do whatever teenage cousins do.   
Rex browsed through the box of singles, four for a dollar. He considered buying Dragonic Attack, but decided against it when he realized he had no warriors to equip it with.   
Chihiro ended up giving a long description of her brother Jewel's personality to an intrigued Solomon Motou (AKA Yugi's Grandpa).   
Outside, the duel between Yugi Motou and Joey Wheeler dragged on, with plenty of attack negation, life point gain cards, and Jade filling in for Téa's usual role as cheerleader.   
All of this was taking place when Shadi rose up from the floor of the Turtle Game Shop. He turned to get his bearing and his elbow hit Rex in the side. Rex whipped around. "Hey! Oh, it's you. Sorry."   
"It is quite all right," Shadi assured him. "But tell me, why didn't you send Esper Roba to Anubis?"   
Rex blinked. "Oh. I was supposed to?" 

*** 

Draw. Smile. "I use Brainwash to take control of Jinzo. Then, I sacrifice Jinzo and Big Shield Gardna to summon Buster Blader! Buster Blader, attack his Life Points!"   
Black Jade shouted something Yugi couldn't make out as Joey was knocked backward by the impact of the attack and slumped to the sidewalk. He shouted it again. "Are you okay?"   
"Don't worry, I'm just fine…"   
"Now I know you're not."   
Joey apparently got the point; he did not protest again as Jade helped him up. Neither did he protest when-   
_ Yugi… tell me I didn't see what I just saw._   
_ If you saw Joey kissing Jade… well, I saw that too. How could I know what you saw?_   
"Joseph!"   
Joey reddened and turned around. "Oh. Um, hi, Mom." 

*** 

The taxi arrived several minutes after Joey's mother had departed with repeated assurances from her son and Jade that no, they didn't do it. Three boys climbed out of it; one looked around Chihiro's age (he had another trenchcoat- Yugi decided that Kaiba's wardrobe was extremely limited), another one looked like he was twelve or so, and they both had the same color hair and eyes as Chihiro. The third one was wearing a standard Domino school uniform and had about the same build as Ailill or Brendan. Chihiro hung up the phone she had been staring at and identified them as they approached. Yugi could already guess the names on the cards, but was grateful to know their personal ones.   
The door opened. "Where is he?" said Haku.   
Chihiro indicated Yugi, who showed them the Scotch-taped card in his hand.   
Sapphire placed his hands so his arms formed handles. "Well, what are you waiting for? Make the wish!"   
Yugi turned to Shadi, who nodded. Then he made the wish.   
  



	15. Just a few more screws to put in, and…

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the final chapter so far as the original plot (involving Dar, Rex, and Roba) is concerned (and boy was it hell to write, not to mention to read!); merciless criticism is very much appreciated. I may, however, put up some epilogues and side-stories, as if you weren't tormented enough. 

Fifteen: Just a few more screws to put in, and… Seto cursed colorfully as a rental car nearly collided with his own-no, make that actually did collide, but not too severely. He noted the license plate number, storing it away and putting "have that lunatic arrested" on his mental to-do list.   
"Is this the place, sir?"   
He nodded as they pulled up before the Game Shop. "This is the place."   
He got out and walked to the entrance, then took a step backward as a truckload of fireworks seemed to have gone off within. He proceeded to slam into someone and keep on going. Backwards, that is, and then down in a tangled heap.   
"You really should watch where you're going, Kaiba-boy."   
He got to his feet, saw the rental and made the conclusion. "And you," Seto shot back before he had really processed the identity of the speaker, "need to learn that Domino City is not your private bumper-car arena." 

*** 

Once the light had dwindled, Sapphire let out a howl, "ONII-SAN!" and proceeded to leap forward and hug Jewel as only a little brother could. Jewel gasped and fell back against a display, capsizing the whole shebang and sending booster packs skittering across the floor, gleaming under the lights. A stack of fake-leather jumbo game cases joined them. Yugi and his grandfather fell to their knees and scrambled to gather them up.   
Sapphire colored and let go. "Sorry about that."   
Jewel smiled good-naturedly in response and brushed some hair out of his face. "It's all right."   
"Jewel!" Once again he fell back, this time into the wall. Haku quickly pulled him away from it. "Jewel, how could you, I nearly went insane wondering if you'd really been split in two or something, and here you are coming out like nothing happened!"   
Jewel blinked. "Actually… I think I was, for a bit."   
Haku and Chihiro and Sapphire (once the latter had finished handing Yugi an armful of boosters) and just about everyone in the shop stared at Jewel's jacket (suspiciously resembling Yugi's, except in a larger size) as if they could look so hard as to look straight through and see the scar where his flesh had parted company and then rejoined.   
"I apologize," said Chihiro, "on Seto Kaiba's behalf, for that incident."   
"Apology not accepted. You had nothing to do with it."   
Sapphire picked up two more boosters, stuck out his arm out in Yugi's direction, and as Yugi reached out to take them, promptly dropped them.   
Yugi blinked. "What was that for?"   
Sapphire pushed himself up halfway onto his toes (Yugi wasn't at all that much taller than he was) and stared in the direction of the door. "It's him."   
Haku sighed. "Little brother, he did say he might be coming to check on us."   
"I'm not talking about him," said Sapphire. "I'm talking about _him_."   
Chihiro looked where Sapphire was looking, frowned and said something in Japanese. Joey turned to Jade. "What'd she say?"   
And Jade looked, too. "I dunno exactly what, but I'm pretty sure Pegasus is dead meat. If she gets her way."   
The door began to swing open. Sapphire let out a kind of a squeak and half-jumped behind Chihiro, but headed forward in midair so he returned more or less to his original position.   
"Well, well, Yugi Motou, you really should keep an eye on your monsters."   
"I second the Snow Queen," Hikari growled. "He. Is. Dead. Meat." 

*** 

Tani blinked. "Oh. It's him. Yugi, you'd better hide the knives somewhere else. Else being somewhere harder for me to find, because, well…"   
"Now, now, ladies," said Pegasus. "Please, be reasonable."   
"Reasonable my arse." Hikari turned to Yugi. "Yeah, you'd better hide those knives, otherwise someone might be tempted to use them. I'd hate for you to have to clean up all of that."   
"Look, I understand that perhaps you might not have been very happy with what happened to you in the duel-"   
"If you could get sucked up by that and get blown up by Gabriel and come out all smiling and cheery, I'll be absolutely positive-positive-positive you're insane." With each "positive" Hikari seemed to clench her fist tighter. Jade was mildly surprised that she hadn't drawn blood yet.   
"- but really, that is no reason to resort to violence."   
"Eye for eye, tooth for tooth," Michael muttered. Jade jumped slightly; he hadn't heard the knight come up beside him. He then wondered what Michael could mean by that. Did he think Hikari should have arranged to jam Pegasus into Relinquished and fry him, or what?   
"After all, we are all past the Dark Ages, are we not?" He smiled in a way that was probably meant to be appeasing but instead intensified the glares and formed a couple of new ones. "Can we not settle this reasonably?"   
Hikari mock-considered this for a moment. "Um… no."   
Yugi's grandfather groaned and began to bang his head against the counter. Jade realized why - any fight that broke out in the Game Shop would undoubtedly end up trashing merchandise. That was Not Good. "Look, I know you're all out to take each other's heads off, but could you puh-lease take it outside?"   
Hikari smiled. "Fine, then. Out we go."   
Haku stepped in front of her as a rather rumpled-looking Kaiba entered. "What is this we business? You've got your share already, Hikari Kenshin, in case you've forgotten. Or do you think I don't watch the news?"   
Jewel raised his hand and waved it like a kid at school. "Um. What's all this about?"   
"Yeah," said Rex. "What're you going on about?"   
Haku looked at them. "It's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"   
"Yes," they said. 

*** 

Jewel blinked now that the story was told. "Don't you think you're overreacting a tad?"   
"What do you mean, we're overreacting? He-"   
"Yes, yes, you just told me." He made appeasing gestures that were far more effective than those performed several minutes previously. "Really, I know you're all quite bright, but the way in which you attempt to settle this issue makes you look like idiots." Glance at Pegasus. "_All_ of you." Shadi nodded in the background. "Hikari, Tani, while motivations are certainly justified, you could have waited until he was up and about."   
Turn to Pegasus. "Now, I'm sure playing the villain can send people on insane power trips, but really, an apology is in order."   
"Oh. Sorry," he deadpanned.   
"Now, this is getting absolutely ludicrous. I really think you should wipe the scoreboard, so to speak. If I hear of any revenge enacted upon each other for events taking place before this moment, I will speak to the offenders. Perhaps do more than speak. Is that quite clear?" Hasty nods from everyone, including a Seto Kaiba who seemed to have entered mild shock.   
Sapphire tilted his head to one side. "Oh, and about several millions currently residing in Seto Kaiba's personal bank account as compensation for the absolute botching of one of the Kaiba Corporation's products… is that okay?"   
Yugi spoke after a moment. "You mean… the virtual world?"   
Kaiba whacked his forehead; he could be heard muttering, "If it could slip stuff in it could've slipped stuff out."   
Haku put a hand over his mouth. "You didn't!"   
Aaron laughed. "He did! Good job!"   
Pegasus laughed even harder than Aaron.   
Hikari laughed even harder than Pegasus. "Oh is Bakenrenef going to blow a fuse when he hears about this…"   
Sapphire shook his head. "No, no, no. It was completely legitimate. When you take into account all the extra time that'll have to be spent re-reprogramming the game and debugging all over again and everything, not to mention certain other stuff, several millions seems quite a reasonable settlement. A couple of express mails, and that was it."   
Kaiba nodded, finally beginning to smile. "How much for lawyers' fees?"   
He shrugged. "Jane says forty percent is usual."   
"And you settled for how much exactly?"   
"Seven millions."   
"That gives you two point eight. Use it wisely."   
Sapphire gaped. "You've got to be joking."   
"I assure you I am not joking."   
"Then you're drunk."   
"I'm not drunk, either."   
"Then you're just insane."   
"When are you going to take the money and shut up?"   
"Now, I guess."   
"I didn't know he was like this," Jewel whispered to Michael.   
Michael shrugged. "Times change." 

*** 

November 15, 2003 The Scales, by now, were back with Shadi, who had retired to Egypt after things settled down some (the survivors of the Raptor house's chocolate massacre were sent along to make it easier). Battle City was well and truly over. While Rex hadn't quite gotten into the top eight, he'd still gained a respectable standing. Part of this was due to his sudden fantastic luck with card drawing. When he'd asked Dar about this, Dar had grinned and said nothing. He liked to think that if he challenged Mai now he'd win, or at least make it close.   
Dar passed the newspaper to him. He looked over the latest updates on the case. They'd had a hearing yesterday, it seemed, around the time the blimp had landed and the duelists had marched off, to much fanfare. Yugi Motou now had another tournament won to add to his list.   
Oh God, he thought as he read more, were the Robas one messed-up family, or were they one messed-up family? The mom had been, to be blunt, pushing up daisies for over a year. The dad had been in Oregon, for crying out loud. They said he'd gone all the way to NYC at one time.   
"Rex?"   
"Mm?"   
"Someone called Zachary-"   
Rex snatched the phone. "Yeah?"   
"I wanted to talk to DelaSangre…"   
Rex threw the phone at Dar. Dar caught it and held it the right way. "Hello? Oh, yeah, them." Pause. "You're welcome, I guess." Longer pause. "Yeah, that's me. You're… Tommy, right?" Still longer pause. "Really, it was nothing. Honestly. Yesterday? It was Yugi Motou, you know, the spiky-head."   
He counted off on his fingers. "Then Wheeler, Ishtar, Kaiba, Bakura. Not necessarily in that order. Sure he took out Jinzo. Much hash was made by Jinzo." Short laugh. "No, I don't think there's enough room over here… sorry." He laughed again. "No, nothing wrong with donkeys. Ever read one of those Christmas books, see what Mary's riding? Bye and good luck." He pressed the hang-up button and turned to Rex. "Feel like visiting Jade today?"   
"Why not?"   



End file.
